Adventures in Clubbing
by Doctor Strangelove
Summary: Infiltrating The Sharing's new club creates a whole lot of trouble for Marco as he starts to fall for one of his friends and one of the Controllers. Slash [MarcoAx, MarcoTom] 1st in a series.
1. It Started Out Simple Enough

TITLE: "Adventures in Clubbing"  
  
AUTHOR: Doctor Strangelove (strangelove317@hotmail.com)  
RATING:   
SPOILERS: Um, I don't know. No particular spoilers. Visser Three is still Visser Three.  
FEEDBACK: I'd love it.  
DISCLAIMER: K. A. Applegate owns the Animorphs. 

"Adventures in Clubbing"

Written by: Doctor Strangelove

My name is Marco. I can't tell you my last name, alien invasion, blah blah blah, you know the story. You know all about Jake, Cassie, the other Animorphs, the Yeerks, Controllers, all that stuff. And if you don't, please kindly ignore everything I just said.

Anyway, Cassie had called me under the pretense that she was looking for Jake. She said she was supposed to meet him at the barn and he hadn't shown up. Code. Cassie and aren't good friends publicly so she had to make up an excuse to call me about the Animorph meeting at the barn. Normally Jake handles that sort of thing, but he was sick with the flu and thus in no shape to be running a group of shape-shifting alien fighters. He let his girlfriend handle it instead.

Cassie was handling things fine so far. She had called the gang and... that's about all she'd done so far. But her calling was excellent. I demorphed outside her barn and walked in to find Cassie shifting around uncomfortably, Rachel with a smug look on her face, Ax contently chewing what appeared to be hay, and Tobias perched in the rafters. He's a hawk so I'm not exactly sure how he was feeling. I turned to Cassie, "So, Mrs. Fearless Leader, what's all this about?"

Cassie shifted uncomfortably so more, she was clearly not taking this leadership thing well, "Well..."

Erek contacted us. Apparently The Sharing is branching out. Tobias piped up.

I didn't get it and now really regret asking, "Branching out how?"

Erek said that in an effort to recruit more Controllers, The Sharing is going to have more facilities. One of them is going to be opening tonight and it'd probably be a good idea to check it out. Tobias said, officially taking over for Cassie.

"What kind of facility?" I should've kept my mouth shut. 

Tobias turned his head away as did Cassie. A way too happy Rachel decided to spill the beans, "It's a gay club."

If I had been drinking something I would've comically spit it out right about then, "A _what_!?"

Rachel's smile got bigger, "And you're going."

In a once in a life time event I was stunned silent. "What?" Except for that. "I'm whatting the gay what?"

Rachel kept on smiling, "Going to. Club."

I turn to Cassie "Please tell me she's kidding about this!"

Cassie just gives me a sad look, "I'm sorry, but she's serious. And you have to go because my parents want to do some family thing tonight and Rachel has to go to gymnastics."

I'm looking for anyway to get out of this, "So, we've blown of stuff like this before!"

Cassie sighed, "Okay, the real reason is we decided the last person to show up would have to go."

Rachel's smile had gotten so big I think it was actually starting to spread off her face, "And Ax is going with you."

I turn to Cassie for help, "AX?"

She shrugged apologetically, "Well, we need to people there and Ax will probably be more useful than Tobias. Plus, you know, you may not get on as much if people think Ax is your boyfriend."

"Absolutely not!" I shouted, "This is not fair at all! I've got to infiltrate some gay club run by Yeerks and pretend an Andalite is my boyfriend! Plus, Rachel is getting some perverse pleasure from all this!"

"Marco, that's not true."

Rachel looked over at her best friend, "No, Cassie he's right."

What does "gay" mean? We all turned to look at Ax's sudden outburst. 

Since I was going to have to be pretending to be dating this guy later I figured I should explain, "Rachel, you wanna take this one?" _Should_ explain. Never said I would.

Rachel's smile faded as she struggled for the words, "Well, you see Ax, usually men like women. But there are some men who like other men, and some men who like men and women, and some who don't-"

I was kidding," Ax said in a voice that really didn't sound like he was kidding, I know what it means.

Yes, Tobias added from his position up in the rafters, I had the pleasure of explaining that when Ax started watching _Queer As Folk_ with me.

Rachel's smile faded a little more, "You were watching _Queer As Folk_?"

My smile perked up, "You get Showtime? Cool. I need to come over more often."

Maybe after your little excursion to the Yeerk club tonight.

That brought me back to reality. "Oh, no way. I'm not going. There is no way I'm going."

*****

Guess what? Yep, I ended up going. Even though I didn't want to. Okay, I'm gonna level with you. My reasons for not wanting to go were a little more complicated than the average straight guy fragile ego thing. You see, okay, it's not I _am _gay or anything. I mean, sure I've had the occasional erection in the locker room or erotic dream about our Fearless Leader but, it's just those aren't any feelings I really want to explore. I'm different enough as it is with the whole morphing, alien fighting thing. No need to add the whole sexual orientation thing to it.

Anyway, it wasn't really a gay club like you think of. It was like a cross between a regular Sharing facility and a nightclub. There was pool, some pretty good music, and maybe about forty people. It was a dual-gender club, so there were about twelve lesbians there, which didn't suck, but there were also plenty of guys too, which bothered me in the fact that it didn't bother me. Stupid, I know, but hey, I explained it above. 

Having Ax there wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, he was good company and kept sharing his hot wings with me. Plus, Cassie was right, as long as the two of us stayed next to each other people thought we were together and left us alone. All in all I was having a pretty good time.

I was scanning the area, looking for anything suspicious or Yeerk related when Ax tapped me on the shoulder. I looked at him and discovered he had about three hot wings stuffed in his, bone and all. He was pointing at the dance floor.

"What," I asked, not understanding, "You want to dance?" He nodded. "Um, I don't think that's-" He looked at me with the saddest puppy dog eyes I've ever seen. _Where did he learn that? Probably on TV. He's kind of cute like that. No! That's the club talking. But I guess some dancing couldn't hurt. It'll pass the time. _I sighed, "Alright. Just swallow the hot wings first."

Ax swallowed and started to head off when he suddenly stopped, "It's been nearly two hours I should de-"

"Shh," I put a finger up to his lips, "Watch what you say around here. Go to the bathroom. I'll guard the door."

I walked Ax over to the bathroom door and waited until I heard the lock click. I'd been there for a few minutes and was starting to wonder what was taking so long when I heard a voice behind me, "Is there someone in there?"

"Yeah, it's-" My sentence fell flat when I saw who it was. Tom. Jake's brother Tom. Controller Tom. Standing in a gay club. With a very tight shirt showing off- _No! Stupid club!_

Tom was staring at me, "Marco."

"Tom."

"What are you doing here?" We asked simultaneously. 

Tom shifted around. He was either nervous or had to pee. I'm not sure which. "Look, Marco, we're both probably here for the same reason and that's good. I mean The Sharing opened up this club for teens like us and they're really helpful. There's going to be a guy speaking in a little bit. I guess what I'm trying to say is that, I won't say anything to Jake if you won't."

"Deal." I reached out to shake his hand when Ax decided to leave the bathroom.

"Marco, I am ready to dance now," He said not noticing Tom.

Tom looked at the two of us, "Is this your..."

"Yes!" I nearly shouted. "He is!" I decided to prove my point my leaning over and kissing Ax on the mouth. I panicked, sue me. I couldn't look suspicious. "Tom this is," You cousin Phillip who you've never met. "This is No."

"His name is No?"

"He's foreign," I stammered.

"Excuse me, could I have your attention please?" _Thank God_. We all turned to see a speaker getting up on stage.

Tom seemed to forget about No, "Oh, this is guy I was telling you about. Go on over. I'll see you later." Tom headed into the bathroom and left Ax and I alone.

Ax was staring at me, almost as shocked as I was that I had kissed him. I grabbed his hand, "Come on, Ax. The night is young."


	2. Days I'm Confused

TITLE: "Adventures in Clubbing"  
  
AUTHOR: Doctor Strangelove (strangelove317@hotmail.com)  
RATING: PG  
SPOILERS: Um, I don't know. No particular spoilers. Visser Three is still Visser Three.  
FEEDBACK: I'd love it.  
DISCLAIMER: K. A. Applegate owns the Animorphs.  
A/N: A mere two days after the original post, mostly due to threats from a few reviewers who shall remain nameless, part 2 is up! I hope you like it.  
TO REVIEWERS: **Jinako-chan:** I'm glad you like it. I was rereading "Be Stupid" when the idea for this hit me. As for the others playing matchmaker, well, we'll just have to wait and see. I am going to say that Cassie has her suspicions about Marco and Ax, as does Tobias. And please, feel free to ramble on for ages about how good this is as much as you want. ^_~  
**Lisa-Ann: **Yay, you put it on your favorite's list! I love you! And since I don't want to die I'll update as much as possible. Although I may not have anything till after Christmas, New Year's at the latest.

"Adventures in Clubbing"

Written by: Doctor Strangelove

My name is Marco. No real reason to tell you that, I just thought you should know who was narrating. Otherwise it could get confusing. Or, more confusing, Trust me, once this story starts to unfold you'll be staring your computer screen going "What the hell?". It's not my fault, it was a confusing string of events, some of which I don't know all of. You'd have to ask somebody else about those confusing details.

All this talk about confusing stuff is pretty ironic. I'm pretty damn confused right. Why? Well, I ran into my best friend's alien-controlled brother at a gay club run by said aliens, I just kissed one of my other very non-human friends, and adding to that, that kiss felt very... right. It's all pretty confusing, I just want to be an average sixteen year old guy. Instead I'm an animal morphing, possibly bisexual alien fighter. And I'm short.

Right now I'm still at The Sharing's little gay club, listening to some thirty something guy ramble on and on about how it's perfectly normal to have feelings of homosexuality. That there's nothing wrong with it. That The Sharing is always there is you need someone to talk to or a place to stay. I'd actually think this was a pretty helpful organization if it weren't for the fact that it was an obvious attempt to lure unsuspecting teenagers into becoming slaves to an alien invasion.

I pulled Ax off to one side of the dance floor. "I think Cassie was wrong," I whispered in his ear, "This looks like just a regular Yeerk infestation plan. It seems they're just trying to-" I stopped when I noticed something towards the back of the club.

Ax looked at me, "What is it? What-tuh."

I slowly moved closer to get a better look, "I'm not sure. Something's going on." There was a short, scrawny guy standing guard at a back door that read "RESTRICTED: EMPLOYEES ONLY". A much bigger and more muscular guy was hassling him, trying to go through the door. "I know that guy. His name's Rick. He's on the school football team. Usually picking fights with people."

"Should we help? Hell. Lp. Help." Ax asked me. 

"I don't think that'll be necessary." The scrawny guy grabbed Rick by the neck and lifted him up of the ground. He turned around to open the door and threw Rick in. He landed with a loud crash. I looked around and saw that everybody else's attention was focused on the speaker. Except for the scrawny guy who was staring directly at me and Ax.

I panicked again. I grabbed Ax by the neck and pulled him into a kiss. I opened one eye and saw the scrawny guy shrug and go back to guarding the door.

After a minute I let Ax go, "You keep doing that. Eep. Ing. Doing."

I shrugged and tried to avoid making eye contact, "Well, I keep panicking. It helps us fit in. Look, I'm sorry."

Ax smiled a little, "It's okay. Kay." 

I raised an eyebrow and was about to ask what he meant when everybody else on the dance floor started clapping, the speaker was finally done. A slow song started to play and Ax turned to me, "We never got to dance. Ance."

I sighed. "Okay," I said, putting my hands on his waist, "But I lead."

*****

It was the next day and I was flying back to Cassie's barn to report everything that had happened at the club. Well, not everything. I planned on leaving out kissing and dancing with Ax. It wasn't the sort of thing I wanted to go shouting from the rooftops. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy it. As much as I hate to admit it, it was very nice and not as weird as you'd think. But it was the sort of thing better left to people who could handle it.

Hey, Marco. My thoughts were interrupted as a red-tailed hawk flew up beside me. How was the club?

I didn't like the tone in his voice. How much did Ax tell you?

I swear, if birds could smirk that would be what Tobias would've been doing, Twice?

I mentally sighed, birds can't do the actual act of sighing. I panicked alright? The whole atmosphere had me very confused.

I'll bet. And with that Tobias flew ahead of me into the rafters of Cassie's barn.

I landed, demorphed and walked on in. _Funny_, I thought, _That's how this whole thing started._ Rachel and Cassie were there, as was Tobias, but Ax was nowhere to be found. "Where's Ax?"

He wanted to stay home and watch the episode of _Oz_ he missed last night on TiVo. Tobias explained, and then added to me in private thought-speak, I won't say anything.

I gave a little nod of thanks before asking, "You have TiVo? And you get Showtime and HBO?"

Tobias nodded, which was weird, him being a hawk and all, And Cinemax.

I was dumbstruck, "How?"

He shrugged, which was as weird, if not weirder than, the nod, Ax hooked it all up.

"And you have no problem with the fact that you're stealing cable?" Cassie, ever the noble one, asked.

No, not really.

She sighed but suddenly perked up, "Do you get Animal Planet?" Tobias nodded. I wish he'd stop doing that. "So, Marco," Cassie said, turning to me. Well obviously she turned to me, I was the only Marco there. "How did the club go?"

I thought back about the previous night's events, "Let's see, I had some really good hot wings. Listened to some good music. Ran into some weird blue-haired girl who swore she knew me from somewhere."

Cassie sighed again. There was a lot of that going around lately, "Anything Yeerk related?"

I smiled, I had known what she meant, "It all seemed like it was an average Yeerk infestation station. Whoa, say that five times fast. Although, there was weird thing. There was little scrawny guy guarding some back door."

Rachel scoffed, "That's not that weird."

"Well there's more to it," I answered sharply, "Some big jock was trying to get through, and the scrawny guy grabbed him by the neck and threw him pretty hard into a back room. It was pretty weird."

Cassie nodded, "Sounds like it. Anything else?"

I paused for a moment, thinking if I should mention it or not, "Well, I ran into Tom."

That got their attention. "Tom?" Rachel and Cassie said simultaneously. "Jake's brother, my cousin, Tom?" Rachel continued, "What was he doing there?"

I shrugged, "Well, he could've been just working there on Yeerk business or he might be..." The word "gay" just didn't seem to want to come out of my mouth, "He might have another reason."

Rachel sat there in disbelief while Cassie was deep in thought, "I have an idea. But, you're not going to like it, Marco."

_I didn't like your last one and that turned out pretty well. _I thought. "I didn't like your last one and I still went through with it." I said.

She avoided eye contact with me, "Well, it does look the Yeerks are up to something suspicious at the club so it'd be good if we could find that out. That might be easier to do if we had an inside source. Like Tom."

I didn't get what Cassie was getting at, "But Tom doesn't trust me enough to let me in on what's going with the club."

Cassie looked up at me, "He might if you were his boyfriend."

I glared at her, "I don't think you should be leader anymore."


	3. Mating Habits of the Earthbound Andalite

TITLE: "Adventures in Clubbing"  
  
AUTHOR: Doctor Strangelove (strangelove317@hotmail.com)  
RATING: PG-13.  
SPOILERS: Um, I don't know. No particular spoilers. Visser Three is still Visser Three.  
FEEDBACK: I'd love it. Flames are welcome and appreciated.  
DISCLAIMER: K. A. Applegate owns the Animorphs.  


"Adventures in Clubbing"

Written by: Doctor Strangelove

My name is Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill. I am an Andalite. And I am a homosexual. I should probably explain the bluntness of that last statement. On the Andalite home world, homosexuality is considered one of the most disgraceful things you can do. So when I came to the age when I was supposed to be obsessed with females, and I realized I was much more interested in my male companions, I kept it a secret from everyone. But, after a while on Earth I discovered something surprising, for the most part, Earthlings accepted homosexuality. Sure, there were some, well, a lot, of people who thought it was wrong and immoral, but it appeared that homosexuals on Earth could lead normal lives. But I've still kept it a secret..

Except for my shorn Tobias, I have told none of my other Earth friends about my feelings. To quote an Earth saying, old habits die hard. I think the main reason I never said anything was because I began to have feelings for one of the Animorphs. After fighting together for so long, I developed a crush on Marco. But I won't act on it. Nor will I tell anyone, it will remain my secret. I'm good at keeping secrets. 

Hey, Ax-man, Speak of the Devil. Another human saying. I don't really understand that one. And I suppose it's a bit inappropriate, since I was most recently talking about Marco, and not Tobias, who was the one that arrived. I'm beginning to ramble. Tobias is staring at me. I didn't do anything when he landed next to me, I was lost in thought. I think he noticed. I need to cover that up. 

Hello. Yes, that should do it. 

Tobias began to demorph, he usually went into his human body to watch television. "How was _Oz_?" 

It was good, I told him, my mind still on other things. Human prisons are much different from Andalite ones. 

Tobias reached under the couch and pulled out a bag of Doritos's, "Andalites have prisons?" 

Not anymore. I think. He looked at me, quizzically. I like that word. Nice to say out loud. It was on a Word A Day calendar Cassie gave me. We had talked about it in a class sometime. I don't really remember. I was distracted by a female. Tobias gave me a different look, Sorry. Old habits die hard. 

Tobias smiled as he opened the bag of corn chips, "So, when you say that, distracted by a female. What do you really mean? Were you just not paying attention or were you distracted by an Andalite male?" 

I had "come out" to Tobias, another Earth saying, I've come to like those, but I still wasn't very comfortable talking about it, Well, not distracted, per say. 

He nodded knowingly, "Ah. Daydreaming." 

I averted my eyes, Yes. 

Tobias offered the bag of chips to me, "Hey, nothing to be ashamed. That's how I passed most of the time in school." 

That is a slight comfort, I looked back at him again and tried to think of a way to segue into my real question, So, how did the meeting go. 

"Good, good." Not what I wanted. 

I looked around before nonchalantly asking, Was Marco there? 

Tobias popped a chip into mouth before answering, "Why, yes, he was. Why do you ask?" 

_Careful, Aximili, you'll give yourself away. _Just making sure Prince Jake was the only sick one. 

Tobias nodded, accepting my answer. "Yep, Marco's doing fine. Everyone seems to think that something's going on at the club, so he'll continue to check it out." 

_Don't say anything. Hide your excitement._ Really? I guess that means I'll need to keep recording _Oz_. 

Tobias frowned and put away the bag of chips, "Well, no. The plan is to get close to someone on the inside, sp Marco's going to get close to Tom. He'll be going alone." 

All of my hearts broke at that moment. An Earth saying I'm not as fond of. Oh, was all I could muster. 

Tobias put his arm around my shoulder, "I'm sorry." 

I tried to mask my sadness, For what? Now I can stay here and watch _Oz_ and other shows. I've grown quite fond of _The Sopranos_. 

"Ax, you're good at a lot of things. Keeping secrets, not one of them. I know how you feel Marco." 

I wanted to tell him he was crazy. I wanted to blow it off. I wanted to ignore it all. How did you know? 

He sighed, "It's pretty obvious. I see you sneak those little glances at him. I can see the concern you've got for him in battle. Plus, when you mentioned the fact that he kissed you, you seemed a little, well, giddy." 

I averted my eyes again, Giddy? 

Tobias nodded, "Like a schoolgirl." 

I tried to play it off, Well, it's just a crush. 

Tobias really looked like he wanted to help, "Well, I think Marco, in his own twisted, self-repressing way, had feeling for you. If that helps any." 

It doesn't. It actually makes it a little worse. I cringed a little as Tobias's face fell, But thank you. 

Tobias smiled and we attempted to move on, "So, you up for some TV?" 

Ignoring my problems, not the best thing to do, helped. Sure. After _Oz_ was over, the TiVo must've recorded this other show _Real Sex_ by accident. 

Tobias eyes widened a little. "Yes," he answered after a few moments, "Accident. Hey, why don't we watch something else. I think Comedy Central is showing _Earth Girls Are Easy_." 

Okay. I turned on Comedy Central, which was indeed showing _Earth Girls Are Easy_, and tried as hard as I could to ignore the fact that my little crush on Marco was rapidly becoming something much bigger. 


	4. All His Relationships Are Shams Or Hypot...

TITLE: "Adventures in Clubbing"  
  
AUTHOR: Doctor Strangelove (strangelove317@hotmail.com)  
RATING: PG-13  
SPOILERS: Um, I don't know. No particular spoilers. Visser Three is still Visser Three.  
FEEDBACK: I'd love it.  
DISCLAIMER: K. A. Applegate owns the Animorphs.  
TO REVIEWERS: **Jinako-chan:** Ax coming out to Elfangor? I like that. Maybe as part of a flashback. I'm sure he'd be very understanding. I'd assume they would be morph-proof. You really don't like Tom do you? Hey, don't be so hard on him, it's the Yeerk's fault. Maybe I should do a chapter from Tom, the real Tom's POV. See how he feels about all this. I know there'll be a chapter from Tobias's POV, hey maybe even Tom's Yeerk. Which brings up the point, was Tom a voluntary controller or not? I don't remember. Marco will find out about Ax, eventually. And Jake, he's gonna find out about the mission to the club, which needs a name, I'm not sure if he'll learn about Marco, Ax, and Tom. There'll be no mutiny, Marco's gonna take out his anger at Cassie and Rachel. You think it's a tangled web now? Things are just getting warmed up.  
**Lisa-Ann: **GAH! I can't believe I messed up the Tobias thing. Happy _ending_? Well, it won't have a sad ending, I guarantee that. I'm still not sure how it will all end.  
**Kay:** I've been glomped! I feel so dirty. J/K. I'm glad you like it.  
**Aaren/Aqua Rhapsody: **Yay! More people like it! I love you. 

"Adventures in Clubbing" 

Written by: Doctor Strangelove 

My name is Marco, and I am an alcoholic. Okay, not really, but I'm starting to wish I were. Shame this club doesn't serve alcohol. You know, "Here! Have a beer with all the sexual confusion and storylines worthy of a soap opera we're giving you!" But no, we're for teens so no alcohol! Please, you're taking away the last bit of freedom these teens have, at least give them a Miller Lite on the way out. No, they've just got Coke. And really good hot wings. I wonder what their secret is. 

No, bad Marco! You're here looking for anything suspicious. And Tom. Jake's older brother Tom. Then you need to seduce him. The guy that looks _a lot_ like Jake. That's not gonna be weird. Man, I wish Ax were here. He was fun to hang out with. A lot more fun than Tobias. 

"So, Marco," Speak of the devil, well devil-bird, "I thought you were supposed to be here alone." Tobias smirked and grabbed one of my hot wings. 

He's right. I was. But, truthfully, I didn't want to be here alone. Especially when I'm going to be working my mojo on a guy. With Tobias here I won't get carried away. He's my safety net. I didn't tell him that of course. I mumbled something about needing backup in case of an emergency. 

"So, when Tom gets here, who I am supposed to be?" Tobias asked, stealing another hot wing. 

"You are Tobias. You think you can handle that?" I scanned the club for any sign of the controller. 

"I think so." 

I smacked his hand away from my hot wings, "Get your own." 

Tobias sat there tapping his fingers to the music before asking, "So, just so I'm clear, if someone sees us, you're not going to kiss me are you?" 

I flicked him off and the smile on Tobias's face got bigger. He was having way too much fun. "We don't have to wait if you don't want to." 

Tobias laughed and pointed over to the dance floor, "There's Tom." 

I looked in the direction he was pointing and indeed there was Tom, grinding away to Christina Milian's "AM to PM". I sighed and stood up, "Alright, it's magic time." I looked over at Tobias who was staring at me, "Pretend you didn't hear that." 

"Will do." Tobias waved as I headed over to the dance floor, "Good luck." 

Sometimes I really don't like him. I stood off to the edge of the dance floor and watched Tom. _Not bad. Ax was a better dancer. Not that I liked dancing with Ax; he was just good. It's nothing funny; I just noticed he had talent. And I'm really over compensating considering the fact that no one can hear me. _The song ended and I headed over to Tom. _Showtime._

"Hey, Tom." He turned to look at me. He'd been dancing pretty hard and was sweating a lot. All that sweat was making his already tight T-shirt even tighter. _Damn, why don't people ever wear coats to clubs?_

"Oh, hey Marco. Are you here with, um, was it No?" 

"Yes." 

"You're here with him?" 

"No." 

"Yes, No." 

"Yes. No." 

"Wait, I'm confused." 

I nodded in agreement, "Me too." 

Tom laughed. He has a nice laugh, "So, are you here with No?" 

"No,"_ Damn, need a reason._ "We broke up. He said he was just going through a phase." 

Tom seemed to buy it, "Oh, that's rough. I'm flying solo tonight too." 

_Time to turn on the charm_, "Really, you? I'd figure you had a boyfriend. I mean, a funny, athletic, really attractive guy like you? How can they resist you?" 

"Thanks. You're not so bad yourself. You should have no trouble bouncing back. And really, I know all these guys here. Not my type. I really want to meet someone who's not part of the Sharing." He smiled, "Yet." 

_Hmm, wonder why. _"Oh, so you're saying I shouldn't date anyone here." 

The Yeerk in Tom's head realized he's just talked himself into a trap. "No! These are great guys! For you." 

"Nah, I was thinking about joining if I was dating someone part of it. But if none of these guys are good enough for you..." I let my sentence hang, hoping the Yeerk would take the bait. 

It did, "No! They're great! Really!" 

_Time to go in for the kill_, "Is there anyone else like you?" 

"Like me?" 

_Yes! Wait, why am I so excited?_ "Yeah, I mean, like I said, you're smart, funny, athletic." My eyes wandered over Tom's body. All part of the act. "_Very_ attractive. Having a boyfriend like you would be great." 

I could almost see the gears turning in his head, "Are you saying you like me?" 

_This is too easy. _I faked like I'd just been caught with some deep secret, "Oh, damn. Well, I mean..." I mentally thanked Ax and gave Tom the best puppy dog eyes I could muster. "Yes. I do." 

Tom gave me the phoniest smile I've ever seen. _Does the Yeerk actually think that's gonna work? It might, boy's got a nice smile. For someone that's into that, of course. _"I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere." 

_Okay, now, fake hurt. _"Damn, I scared you off. I knew it!" 

Then Tom gave a much realer looking smile, "No." He leaned in and gave me a quick kiss. "You didn't." With that he turned and walked off. I looked over and saw Tobias grinning like an idiot and eating one of my hot wings. I groaned and went back to retrieve my spicy delicious treat. 

"Wow," Tobias said as he finished off my last hot wing, "You're getting a lot of action at this club." 

"Shut up. I didn't initiate that kiss." I ordered another basket of hot wings. 

"No, but you seem to be kissing a lot of people. You didn't have to initiate it; Tom couldn't resist your succulent lips. Because you're such a good kisser." 

I smirked at Tobias, "And how would you know?" 

"I don't. That's what Ax said." 

I accepted that until I realized what he said, "Ax said I was a good kisser?" 

Tobias had a look on his face that very clearly read, "Oh, shit." "Um, he might've." 

"Huh." I took that in and was a little surprised about my reaction. I was a little excited. I passed it off as having someone compliment my kissing. That didn't happen very often, mostly because I didn't kiss a lot of people. "That's pretty neat. I don't get to kiss a lot of people. Who would I? I mean, you've got Rachel, Jake's got Cassie. Who do I get?" 

"Ax?" Tobias offered. I glared and he dropped it. 

"So," Tobias tried to nonchalantly start up a new conversation, "Why wouldn't you go out with Ax?" 

I took a bite out of one the hot wings that had just been placed in front of me, "You mean besides the fact that he's a guy?" 

Tobias nodded. It's not as weird when he's a human, but for some reason still doesn't look right, "Yes. Besides that." 

"Well, he's an alien." 

"So? I'm not human and I do pretty good with Rachel." 

"Yeah, but you're human part of the time." 

"So is Ax." 

I took that in. It made sense. "Well, I guess. I mean, if I _was _that way and so was Ax, I guess I might give it a shot." Tobias smiled a little at that. "What about you? If you were like that and he wasn't your uncle, would you date Ax?" 

Tobias shook his head and grabbed another hot wing. "Oh, I can't answer that. I hate hypothetical situations." 

"But you just gave me one." 

Tobias gave me a look that seemed to say, "Was it?" when someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and was greeted to the smiling face of Tom. "Hey, Marco. Who's that?" 

"Oh, him that's," I struggled for a name, "Brian Kinney." Tobias snorted and I discreetly kicked him in the shin. 

Tom didn't get it, "Oh. Cool. So I was thinking, you wanna dance?" 

_Back to work._ "Sure," We headed off to the dance floor. My mind was on how suspicious Tobias was acting as I mumbled under my breath, "Round Two." 


	5. Marco's Musings

TITLE: "Adventures in Clubbing"  
  
AUTHOR: Doctor Strangelove (strangelove317@hotmail.com)  
RATING: PG-13  
SPOILERS: Um, I don't know. No particular spoilers. Visser Three is still Visser Three.  
FEEDBACK: I'd love it.  
DISCLAIMER: K. A. Applegate owns the Animorphs.  
A/N: This is a little mini-chapter. Very short. The next chapter's not Marco's POV though, so I had to do this one short.  
TO REVIEWERS: **Jinako-chan: **You got the flu? Oh, I'm sorry. I hope you feel better. The kiss? Hey, what can I say? People like to kiss Marco. That's be a good chapter title. There was gonna be more "No" stuff but I got confused writing it. A relationship between Marco and Ax would have more problems than the whole "interspecies" thing. A point which will come up in the next few chapters. God, it'll be Chapter 10 before we even get to the Yeerks. Yes, they're up to something at that club, which I still need to name. Brian Kinney is one of the main characters on the show _Queer As Folk_. Which now that I think about it, doesn't make a lot of sense since I said Marco doesn't get Showtime. ...Oh well. Maybe he went over to Tobias and Ax's and watched it. Oh, you mean the Yeerk. You can hate him all you want. He's just being evil. I wonder what Tom thinks about all this stuff with Marco. Now I have to do a chapter with him, it's gonna bug me to much to leave it open. As for a happy ending. I don't know. I'm sure how this will end. I have some idea of what's going to happen, but I don't know about the end. I don't even know how I'm going to end this. Well, it won't be for a while so I don't have to worry.   
**Lisa-Ann: **Yep, Tom's fallen for Marco. And Marco's starting to fall for Tom. Wait, that didn't happen in that chapter. ...Ignore what I just said.  
**Kay:** *hands you some hot wings* Here. No one can resist Marco, it's why I wrote a fic about him. I sadly can't update everyday, but if I keep getting reviews like this one, I'll try to do it as often as possible. Glomping is a fine reward. But OJ's good too.  
**Aaren: **I hope all the other chapters are good enough to make you dance into walls.**  
Aqua Rhapsody: **You like Marco/Tom. Cool, well there's gonna be more.  
**Myself: **Okay, you caught me! This is all an elaborate scheme to get people to eat hot wings. Actually, I was eating some when I wrote that chapter.

"Adventures in Clubbing"

Written by: Doctor Strangelove

My name is Marco? And yours is? Kidding you don't have to tell me yours. I'm assuming there's more than one person reading this and frankly it'd be too confusing if you all shouted out your names. And I've got enough else on my mind. Let's see; disturbing sexual awakening, demented bird boy, seducing Controllers, and a suddenly very attractive Andalite. Yep, definitely no room to think about names.

Oh, yeah, and carrying on a conversation with Cassie. I'm on the phone with her right now. And in the time I was telling you my name she's been rambling on about something.

"Marco?" Right. I should probably talk to her.

"Yeah, what's up Cassie?"

"I was asking if you're still upset at me. You know, for making you go to club and everything."

"Um..."

_"Cassie's a lesbian?" Tom looked at me in disbelief._

_ I nodded, "Yep. Big 'ol lesbian._

"No, Cassie, I got over that." Hey, don't get mad at me. That makes me and Cassie even.

"Good. I just thought you'd be best for the job. You shouldn't be mad at Rachel either."

_"Rachel too?"_

_ "Yep. Both lesbians. They like the ladies."_

"I'm not mad at her either. I completely understand."

"That's good."

I paused for a minute. There was something I wanted to talk to Cassie about. "Um, Cassie?"

"Yeah. What is it?"

"What are we gonna tell Jake about all this?"

"I don't know. That's a good point. What do you think we should tell him?"

"I think we should tell him as little as possible. Somehow I don't think he'd love the idea of me seducing his older brother."

"You're not seducing him, Marco. You're... using your charm and looks to make him want to date you."

I rolled my. A pointless gesture, since Cassie couldn't see me. "Yeah, I don't know how I got 'seducing' from that. And I'm not using my 'charm and looks'. I'm making myself look vulnerable to the Yeerk. Very different."

"How so?"

"Well has much less to do with my ruggedly handsome features."

Cassie laughed, "Ruggedly handsome?"

"Hey!" I shouted in mock protest, "I may be no _Jake_ but I'm pretty damn attractive."

"Goodnight, Marco."

"Goodnight."

Cassie hung up and left me with my thoughts, which I'll get to in a minute. First, let me explain to you what happened at the club through the magic of flashback.

Nah, screw that. It's easier if I just tell you. I met Tom. We danced. We talked. We flirted. I told him I had a crush on him. I lied. He was flattered. He said he'd call and we could do something. Maybe with The Sharing. Evil jerk. There. That's the Cliff Note's version. 

Now I'm laying on my bed thinking about everything that's happened so far. Cassie found about this club and sent me. Now I'm stuck having to confront all my questions about my sexuality, while seducing my best friend's very attractive older brother. A brother who looks a hello of a lot like my best friend. And that Yeerk's doing such a good job I think I might actually have a little crush. Add to that, Tobias is acting all weird and I think he might be trying to set me up with Ax. Which is really weird, especially in the fact that I think it might not be a bad idea.

It couldn't be something where we're in a threatening life-or-death situation, could it? No! Cassie had to find the club. I can't wait till Jake gets better. Maybe he'll find us a mission that's a little bit simpler.


	6. Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Me Some Sla...

TITLE: "Adventures in Clubbing"  
  
AUTHOR: Doctor Strangelove (strangelove317@hotmail.com)  
RATING: PG-13  
SPOILERS: Um, I don't know. No particular spoilers. Visser Three is still Visser Three.  
FEEDBACK: I'd love it.  
DISCLAIMER: K. A. Applegate owns the Animorphs.  
TO REVIEWERS: **Jinako-chan: **Marco's revenge is actually the entire reason this fic exists. I thought up that little scene and tried to think of a way to make it into a fic. Thus, "Adventures in Clubbing" was born! Oh, well, you should dislike the Yeerk. He's evil. Damn Visser. And technically he _will_ break Marco's heart. But not until the last few chapters. Oh yeah, I've got everything planned out now. Right now it's 22 chapters, but it might be longer. I at least know how it's gonna end. Here's your Tobias chapter. I think he narrates two or three more after this one. Tom's gonna be narrating twice. And Tom's Yeerk and Cassie will also make guest appearances as narrator. Oh, and you need to update "Be Stupid". Very soon.   
**Lisa-Ann: **Yes, exactly. And no brats!  
**Kay:** Whoo-hoo! Phonecard! Now I can call people! For free! YES! That's even more incentive to update.  
**Aaren: **Cassie and Rachel are NOT lesbians. Marco was just being mean. Cassie and Rachel are very heterosexual. As far as I know.**  
Aqua Rhapsody: **I'll try to update more. Though it seems every time I say that, I update less.  
**oobergoober: **Well, actually Marco's bisexual. That's kinda like straight. Except he also likes guys.   
**Riley: **More OJ! Yes! And Austin Powers is a great movie. You should quote it more often in reviews.

"Adventures in Clubbing"

Written by: Doctor Strangelove

My name is Tobias. I don't really have anything witty to say, so why don't we just skip to the part were I tell you what's going on. I want to start off by saying that I really respect Marco. He's a great guy. Got a great sense of humor and has proven on more than one occasion that he can do something really brave and heroic. That being said, the guy's an idiot.

Okay, Marco, despite his constant commenting on women around him, is very obviously attracted to guys. One particular Andalite guy in particular. Those two have got more sexual tension than Jake and Cassie. You'd have to be blind, deaf, and dead not to notice it. But since those two are so damn slow in getting together, I've decided to give them a hand. It's for their own good. Okay, it's mostly because I'm bored and it's more entertaining than watching _The Young and the Restless _and _Passions_. Plus this has a lower chance of amnesia and/or evil twins.

"Tobias?" A voice startled me from my scheming and, wouldn't you know it? It was Marco. Damn, that guy's got good timing.

Oh, hey, Marco. What are you doing here? 

He shrugged, "The cable's out at my place. Figured I'd come over and watch some TV with you and Ax. Since you seem to get every channel. Where is Ax-man?"

He said something about going to the beach. He's probably morphed into a fish.

Marco raised an eyebrow and I just noticed that he only has the one, "Fish?" 

I shrugged, which now that I think about it is kind of a weird thing for a bird to do. Old habit, I guess. He says it soothes him.

"I guess I can watch TV with just you," Marco plopped down on the sofa next to me. "So what are you watching?"

Oh, nothing. As if on cue the TV chose that time to announce "We now return you to _Gilmore Girls_." Marco smiled and raised his eyebrow at me again. Don't judge me.

"I just don't see why you want to watch _Gilmore Girls _when you could be watching much better TV. Like _Buffy_."

I mentally smirked. Hawk face doesn't really allow to do it. And your watching _Buffy_ has nothing to with the two lesbian witches on it?

"Well not since Tara died."

I guess that makes sense. Wait. Tara died?

Marco nodded, "Yeah."

When?

"Last season. After she got back together with Willow."

She broke up with Willow?

Marco laughed, "Damn, you haven't watched it for a while."

I nodded and I think Marco flinched a little, Not since the musical. Marco proceeded to fill me in on what I had missed in the last year and it took me a while to get back with my plan. So, Marco, how are things going with Tom?

He groaned and filled me in on what had been happened in the week since we had visited the club. Apparently Tom told Marco he would call and then he actually called. Proof positive that he's not an ordinary guy. The two hung out, went on a few unofficial dates, and will be going on an official one tomorrow night. To a Sharing meeting. That Yeerk's not very subtle. 

We're gonna have a lot to fill Jake in on when he gets better, Marco nodded in agreement and a thought occurred to me, Now that I think about it, Jake's been sick for an awfully long time.

"I kinda figured he was faking it lately to get out of having to do any Animorph work."

Makes sense. Maybe he should just stay fake-sick. Just until you finish this mission.

"Yeah, I'm not looking forward to telling Jake I've been hitting on his older brother. Have you ever noticed how alike Jake and Tom look?"

I thought about it, You know, they do look a lot alike. That's creepy. So when you're with Tom it's kinda like you're with Jake.

Marco nodded in disturbed agreement, "Now, that's creepy." 

Especially if... well, what exactly do you do on your dates with Tom?

"What do you mean, what do I do?"

Do we need to have a discussion about the birds and the bees? 'Cause you know that whole stork thing? It's a big conspiracy. 

Marco glared at me, and then started laughing. "Conspiracy, huh?"

Yep. Although, I guess an alien that looks human 24/7 would have less complications.

"Yeah. Wait, what?"

Oh, shouldn't have said that. Okay, well, I was trying to play matchmaker, and that's what I'll do. Gotta be subtle. Marco, remember all those hypothetical situations of if Ax liked you and if the two of you were _that_ way? Oh screw subtle. Well, they're not that hypothetical. He does and you are.

Marco had the most bewildered expression I've ever seen, "What?"

Ax likes you. In fact, he likes you a lot. He's just been afraid to tell you. There's a whole thing with the Andalite culture, it's too much to explain. The point is, you've got somebody that really likes you. And before you get on the whole thing about you two being guys, so what? Ax is gay and he's fine with it. And you, you act all macho and everything but it's pretty damn obvious you've got a thing for member's of your own gender. 

Now you have two choices. You pretend I didn't say any of that and go on courting Jake's evil alien brother, or you can listen to me and haul your ass down to the beach and find Ax. Marco sat blinking at me. Marco? I think I broke him.

After a minute Marco started moving again, "He... I... what? I um... I gotta go." With that Marco had morphed into a bat and was off flying. 

_Good job, me_. I sat there for a minute, pretty proud of what I just did. Then I took Marco's advice and switched the TV over to _Buffy_.


	7. People Like to Kiss Marco

TITLE: "Adventures in Clubbing"  
  
AUTHOR: Doctor Strangelove (strangelove317@hotmail.com)  
RATING: PG-13  
SPOILERS: Um, I don't know. No particular spoilers. Visser Three is still Visser Three.  
FEEDBACK: I'd love it.  
DISCLAIMER: K. A. Applegate owns the Animorphs.  
TO REVIEWERS: **Aqua Rhapsody: **In order to save myself from getting killed or being yelled at, I decided I wouldn't wait a month to update. Just for you.  
**Lisa-Ann: **Ooh, sorry about the Tara thing. I'll warn about possible spoilers next time. Don't worry about being a season behind on Buffy, this season hasn't been that great anyway. Yep, Marco's acknowledged his feelings for Ax, so now I have to come up with another problem for their relationship. My goal is to give them as hard a time as possible. That's what I do to characters I like. I'm weird like that.  
**Hater of Doctor Strangelove: **Why, yes, I am. Thank you for asking. But come on, if you're gonna flame me at least have the decency to leave your name. Oh, and "YOU ARE WHAT ANIMORPHS COUPLES YOU SUPPORT"? What the hell does that even mean? Nice e-mail address, by the way.  
**Jinako-Chan: **Sorry for reminding you about Tara. But, yay, I'm glad you liked the chapter. Everyone's so happy about Marco realizing his feelings for Ax. So now they'll go off and they'll be very happy together and the next fifteen or so chapters will be about their happy loving relationship. It's all good smiles and good times from here on out. Or not. But now that Be Stupid will be ending soon, what incentive will I have to update? Possibly if you write a sequel?  
**oobergoober: **I like Gilmore Girls too! I just think Buffy is a better show. Well, not this season, but usually. That was one of my favorite lines too.  
**Larania: **I'm glad you like, and the chapters are going to start getting longer.   
**Aaren: **Yay, people like the lines I liked. Sorry for mentioning things you were unfamiliar with.  
**Kay: **Corn Festival! WHOOOO! *calms down* Sorry, that just seemed funny. Your favorite line was This fic is brilliant? I don't remember that line. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your kind words. That's the kind of thing that makes me update. So suck up more! Kidding. And hey, the early seasons of Buffy were the best, they're worth the money.  
**Azure Blood: **Yeah, people that can write plot suck. Oh, you meant me? I'm not that good, I've seen much better. I know! Tobias seemed like the perfect matchmaker for these two. I wish I could do his POV more often. You should try Jinako-Chan's "Be Stupid". It's another Marco/Ax fic and it's really good.  
**Chibi Bulma: **Yay, Marco/Ax fan!  
**Elrond-is-cool: **With all these reviews I can't help but update.

"Adventures in Clubbing"

Written by: Doctor Strangelove

My name is Marco. I'm in way over my head right now, as I'm flying high above everyone else's. Okay, now Tobias said Ax likes me. A lot. Like that matters. It'd be just as weird if he liked me just a little bit. Now, Ax. Likes me. Ax likes me. That's weird. It keeps repeating in my head. Ax likes me.

Now that's nothing compared to what else Tobias said. He said _I _like Ax. That's crazy. That's absurd. That's insane. That's... did I already say crazy?

_Then why are you going to see him? _Stupid brain. Stop trying to confuse me with your logic. I'm going to see Ax because... because... Well, why am I going?

_Because Tobias was right? _Shut up! You don't know what you're talking about. You're crazy. You're absurd. You're insane. You're... did I already say crazy? _Like four times._

Okay, I'm going to see Ax because Ax is my friend. And friends don't let friends drive drunk. No, that's not right. Well, it is, but it has nothing to do with this. Friends don't let friends tell other friends secrets about certain friends and their supposed affections for said friend when in reality their may be nothing at all between the friend and the other friend of the friend the first friend originally went to see. That's it. 

_What the hell did you just say? _Shut up, brain. What's that sound? _Ocean. _Ocean? Why do I hear the ocean? _Because friends fly to the beach when the friend they're in love with is there. _Shut up!

But I was at the beach. Yep, the beach. Look, there it is. The beach. Sandy. The beach. It's a sandy beach. As beaches usually are. Am I rambling? Well, there's no sign of Ax anywh- Oh. There he is. I looked down and saw Ax's body start to emerge from the water as he demorphed from his fishy likeness.

Okay, there's no need to panic, Marco. You just need to be calm and sta- Ax! Or I could yell. Yelling's good.

Ax looked around and finally saw me floating in the sky above him. Marco?

I landed next to Ax and demorphed. "Hey. What's up?"

Ax briefly looked up before morphing into his strangely attractive human form. "Marco, what are you doing here?"

"I, um, I went over to your place and I ran into Tobias and we got to talking and before he had been giving me all these hypothetical situations which I thought were crazy or absurd or insane and did I already say crazy, 'cause they were and then he said they weren't, hypothetical that is, and that you really did like me, a lot, and that I was repressing feelings for you and that you were at the beach because being fish soothes you."

Ax blinked a couple of times, "What?"

I took a few breaths to calm down, "Tobias said that you liked me. A lot."

"He... did" I nodded. "Oh."

"So..." I struggled for the right words, "Do you?" Those should work.

"I..." Ax looked around, "It's not that simple."

"It really is. It's kind of a yes or no deal."

Ax looked at me for what seemed like an eternity, "Yes."

I was in shock. "Oh thank, God." I threw my arms around Ax and kissed him. Hard. This wasn't like the two times in the club, this was something different. There was passion and heat and love. And then it dawned on me; I was in love with Ax. _You just figured that out?_

It was weird. The kiss seemed to last forever, but it also seemed to end in an instant. I can't really explain it that well. But Ax pulled away from me and I swear that he had tears in his eyes.

"Marco... I," he began and I knew right then I didn't want him to finish talking. I wanted him to put his arms around me and hold me and kiss me but I did not want him to finish talking. "This is all too much. There are things that you... I don't even understand them. But it's... it's...

"I can't." With that he turned around and started walking and I think I saw him start running but I'm not really sure.

*****

I started walking too. I wasn't really sure where I was but I eventually just got too tired and sat down. I swear I wasn't crying. Reveal my heart and have it broken. Hey, didn't bother me at all.

"Marco?" I looked up and saw Tom standing there. I looked behind him and saw that I had stopped walking in front of the club. Figures. I'm not sure if it was a coincidence or some higher power messing with my life. They do that. 

"Oh, hey, Tom." I wasn't really in the mood to deal with the Yeerk and his shit.

"I just got through with a Sharing meeting. What are you doing here?"

"I... um..." I had a little trouble thinking of a good excuse.

"Marco, what's wrong?" He sat down next to me.

"It's all..." And before I knew it I was spilling the whole story to Tom, with heavy editing of course, but he got the gist of it.

"Man, Marco, that's terrible." I barely noticed that he had put his arm around me, "You gonna be okay?"

I looked Tom in the face and right then I didn't see the Yeerk. I saw Tom. Sweet, caring, looking-like-Jake Tom. We sat there looking at each other and it was another of those weird forever/moment things like the kiss earlier. Then it had a lot more in common with the kiss when Tom and I started kissing.

_Oh well, _I thought, _If you can't be with the one you love..._

I knew what I was doing was crazy, and absurd, and insane, and did I say crazy? I knew it was wrong and I knew it was stupid. But to be perfectly honest, I really didn't care.

A/N: I'm really going to try to get Chapter 8 up this weekend. It'll be Ax's POV and will explain all his actions.


	8. Convincing Yourself

TITLE: "Adventures in Clubbing"  
  
AUTHOR: Doctor Strangelove (strangelove317@hotmail.com)  
RATING: PG-13  
SPOILERS: Um, I don't know. No particular spoilers. Visser Three is still Visser Three.  
FEEDBACK: I'd love it.  
DISCLAIMER: K. A. Applegate owns the Animorphs.  
TO REVIEWERS: **Tinuelenath: **Yay! A fan! I decided to update this as soon as possible. This chapter covers what's bugging the little blue Andalite. Also, I loved your points about flamers. Very true  
**Jinako-Chan: **Hey, Ax has legitimate reasons for what he did. You can hit Tom all you want, though. Yes, hug Marco. He's got tough times ahead and he needs all the hugs he can get. Aaahh!!!! The Hulk! You don't have to kill them. Wait till the fic's over and then decide who to kill. Tom finding about about Marco and the Animorphs? That's ridiculous. Never gonna happen. Stop trying to guess plotlines. Yep, I can't wait to see Tobias's reaction too. Is that weird? Aw, no "Be Stupid" sequel? I guess that means I should probably read "Threads of Fate", huh? I don't know why, but I haven't been in the mood to read fanfiction lately.  
**Chibi Bulma: **Yes, it was sad. Now you get to see Ax's reasoning.  
**Aqua Rhapsody: **It was a little short. I'm disappointed in that. I'm gonna have to make these chapters longer. Right now I just make sure they're 1000 words. This one's short too. I think after this one they'll be getting longer when we get to the actual Yeerk's plan.  
**Aaren: **I was kinda worried people worried people wouldn't like the Marco arguing with himself stuff. Guess I was wrong. I'm glad you liked this chapter, everyone else seems angry at it.  
**Larania: **Finally! I wanted people to pity Ax and instead they just seemed to angry with him. 

"Adventures in Clubbing"

Written by: Doctor Strangelove

My name is Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill. I was running. I ran and ran and I continued to run until I had a sharp pain in my legs. I was still a little wobbly on them and I collapsed on the ground. 

I looked up and noticed I was near the forest where I live. I rested myself against a tree and sat there crying. The scene continued to play in my head.

_"Oh thank, God." Marco threw his arms around me and suddenly we were kissing. This was not like the times in the club. It was different. It has a warmth and seemed to be like the kisses people have on the television._

_ Marco was kissing me. This should be everything I ever wanted. But it wasn't. _

_ I pulled away. "Marco... I... This is all too much. There are things that you... I don't even understand them. But it's... it's..." I saw the look of pain and confusion on Marco's face as I tried to put into words the problems. It was all too much. I couldn't take it anymore. I had to get out of there._

_ "I can't."_

_ I ran. Instinct took over and I ran. I ran and ran and I continued to run..._

And that's where I am now. It was all too much. I sat there on that tree crying and trying to understand and I'm not really sure when but I eventually cried myself to sleep.

*****

My eyes snapped open. I looked around in the pitch black darkness and I began to panic. I had fallen asleep. In morph. I concentrated and felt my human flesh melt away and a smooth blue fur replaced it. It had been nearly two hours. 

I decided to use the darkness to my advantage and didn't bother morphing back to my human form. My natural state felt comforting and I stayed that way as I slowly walked back to my scoop.

My thoughts began to overwhelm me and I had to focus to think of why I had done what I did. Marco wanted to be with me and I had turned him down. When it happened I didn't really understand it. I just knew I had to do it. Now I needed to know why.

First there was the fact that this was a war. A war is no place for a relationship. We could get killed or something worse. Good reason.

Second, there's the fact that we're friends. Could ruin our friendship. Don't want to do that. 

When the war's over and we both survived there'd be all sorts of problems with my home world. It'd be very complicated and a disgrace to my family.

Those are some great reasons. 

To quote a saying Marco's fond of, they're bullshit.

The real reason is that I'm scared. I'm terrified to get close because we're not the same species and that has so many problems. Tobias has often said that he's not the same species as Rachel but it's not the same. He was born a human. I wasn't.

Marco is not an Andalite. No matter how brave and heroic he is and even with the morphing ability he's not an Andalite. Interspecies romance is a terrible disgrace to the Andalite race. I could never do that to Mother and Father and Elfangor. He's not good enough.

Then there's that Marco is a wonderful person. He's incredibly brave and funny, I'm told, and I feel that sometimes, I'm not good enough. That he's too good for me. 

I'm so worried that he's not good enough and that I'm not good enough and no one is good enough I don't understand anything! I just know that this was what I needed to do.

There's also the fact that I'm absolutely terrified to face anyone with a relationship. My home world, this world, the other Animorphs. And I know that Marco would want to be open and I couldn't do that. That's not me and I just couldn't. I'm too scared of what my people think.

I'm basing so much on what my people would think and I don't even know who my people are. I was born an Andalite and I was raised with those beliefs and customs and ways of life. I was trained in the Andalite military and taught to think the Andalite way. But I feel so at home on Earth. I identify with these people. I feel comfortable in my human body. I'm basing my happiness on what my people think. It's stupid, because I have two people. And those people clash and contradict and it's very confusing. Maybe I should base my decisions on what I think. I think it was the right thing to do. I know it was the right thing to do.

This was the right thing to do. I know that. The reasons confuse me, but I felt it in my hearts. It was the right thing to do.

Right? I asked aloud and my only answer was a cool night breeze. Right.

It was the right thing to do.


	9. Love the One You're With

TITLE: "Adventures in Clubbing"  
  
AUTHOR: Doctor Strangelove (strangelove317@hotmail.com)  
RATING: PG-13  
SPOILERS: Um, I don't know. No particular spoilers. Visser Three is still Visser Three.  
FEEDBACK: I'd love it.  
DISCLAIMER: K. A. Applegate owns the Animorphs. The song is "Blue" and was written by Angie Hart and Joss Whedon.

"Adventures in Clubbing"

Written by: Doctor Strangelove

The lights were dim in the club. I looked up on stage and saw the band starting to warm up. As they started to play I looked over and saw Tom standing there. No words were exchanged and then we were dancing.

_"Night falls,"_

Tom wrapped his arms around me and I relaxed some. 

_ "I fall,"_

I looked over and I saw Tobias standing off to the side of the floor. Alone. Watching

_"And where were you?"_

I looked closer and saw he was with Cassie. She was sitting next to him. Also watching. I think she might've been crying.

_"And where were you?"_

I rested my head on Tom, and he wrapped his arms tighter around me.

_"Warm skin,"_

I looked at him and he smiled at me.

_"Wolf grin,"_

My eyes continued to search the club.

_"And where were you?"_

And then I saw him.

_"I fell into the moon,"_

I could see him in the dim lights, elegantly bathing him and hiding him all at once.

_"And it covered you in blue,"_

Ax was standing off to the sides. Watching. Just me.

_"I fell into the moon,"_

His eyes were only on me.

_"Can I make it right?"_

I pulled myself closer into Tom's warmth.

_"Can I spend the night?"_

I look over and saw Rachel near Tobias and Cassie. She was comforting Cassie. Tobias was still watching.

_"High tide,"_

I looked over to another part of the club and saw some figures moving through the shadows. It looked like two people were watching. They looked familiar.

_"Inside,"_

I looked out the window. It was dark out there.

_"The air is dew,"_

I looked around the club some more. I didn't see Ax.

_"And where were you?"_

I wrapped my arms tighter around Tom. Don't fall. I had gloves on. Weird

_"While I,"_

I pulled away. There was blood all over the gloves.

_"I died,"_

I looked around in a panic.

_"And where were you?"_

Cassie had stopped crying. She was laying her head on the table. I think she was sleeping. Rachel was ignoring her. Tobias was watching.

_"I crawled out of the world," _

I started to back away. The bloody gloves wouldn't come off. Tom was watching.

_"And you said I shouldn't stay,"_

I started to back away faster.

_"I crawled out of the world,"_

I bumped into someone. It was Ax.

_"Can I make it right?"_

I could feel Tom's eyes on me.

_"Can I spend the night,"_

The music ended.

_"Alone?"_

I stared at Ax. He looked at the gloves.

"Not mine."

Ax took the gloves off my hands.

Time to wake up, Oedipus.

*****

My eyes snapped open. That was one messed up dream. I looked around. 

_This isn't my room. _The previous night's activities returned to me. _Oh shit._

I quickly sat and looked around, confirming my fears. I was in Tom's room. I looked down. Tom was sleeping next to me. I was wearing the clothes I had on last night. That's _very _good. That means nothing happened. I hope. 

I quickly got up and headed for the door, but I stopped dead in my tracks. "Marco?" 

I turned around and saw that Tom was awake. Oh joy. This is really not a conversation I want to have. "Hey, Tom. What's up?" 

He smiled and walked over to me, "You were pretty upset last night." 

"Yeah. I remember." God, I wanted to get out of their. 

"You feel any better today?" Tom looked really concerned. But he wasn't. It was that Yeerk. Doing a very convincing job. God, he looks so much like Jake. 

"I gotta go." I stammered and backed towards the door. 

"Right." There was a hint of sadness in his voice. That Yeerk's a good actor. 

"Listen, Tom. Last night, nothing happened, right? Between us? I mean, I know it happened but, _it_ didn't-" 

He smiled, "Nothing happened. Apart from some kissing, nothing." 

"Good." With that I turned and quietly snuck out of the house. 

***** 

I ran down the street, headed for my house. My watch said it was 7:19. I had to hurry to get home before my dad noticed I wasn't. I snuck in the door and was on my way to my room when I heard my dad open his bedroom door. 

"Marco?"

"Hey, Dad."

"You're up early."

"Yeah. Couldn't sleep."

"You want some breakfast?"

"No, I'm good."

"Okay. If you want I can drive you to school."

"No, it's okay. I'll walk."

*****

_Last night was a very stupid thing_. Yeah, it was. _That was Tom. Jake's brother. A Controller. You nearly spilled your secret. _Yeah, I did. _You know what you need to do. _I'm going to the club tonight. _What? _I'm sick of this. It's time to find out what those Yeerks are up to. _You'll need backup. _Yeah, I will.

*****

Tobias accompanied me to the club that night. I didn't really want to take him, but Cassie insisted. 

"Marco?" Tobias was looking at me strangely. "What's up with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're acting all cold and distant. It's 'cause of Ax isn't it?" I flinched and started searching the club. "You didn't find him did you? I haven't seen him either. Don't worry, you'll find him and then you two can... talk. Things'll work out okay." Idiot.

"There's Tom." I say Tom walking across the club and heading for the backroom. The scrawny kid nodded and let Tom pass.

"So, what are we doing?" Tobias followed me as I headed for the bathroom.

"Reconnaissance. We're just here to observe what the Yeerks are up to and then leave. We're not staying." I went into the bathroom and after a moment Tobias followed me.

"What morph?"

I had already stripped down to my morphing outfit and was starting to morph. "I was thinking..." 

Fly. I finished once I was done.

"Gotcha." Tobias shoved our clothes in a cabinet under the sink and started to demorph. I waited while he changed to fly and then we headed for the backroom. We slipped under a crack and that's when all hell broke loose.

A siren went off and the door behind us gave off a loud clang as it locked. Oh, shit. Tobias, they'll be sending Hork-Bajir. Battle morph! I hurried my ass up and demorphed as quickly as I could. In about a minute I was a gorilla standing next to a Hork-Bajir. We were ready to go.

I was right too, there were two other doors in the room and soon they opened and five Hork-Bajir and two Taxxon ran into the room Tobias and I were in. I let out of my anger, frustration, and confusion on these Controllers. I used every bit of my gorilla strength and I beat the living hell out of them. I don't think Tobias got a hit in. My fist were swinging and I nearly hit Tobias a few times.

Then everything seemed to go in slow motion. My fist swung and the second it landed I knew that what I hit was a human. I heard a cracking of bones and I looked in time to see Tom go flying into a machine off to one side of the room. Tom! I could only stare in horror at the blood on my fist and then watch as the machine begin to crumble from the impact and soon collapsed on Tom. 


	10. Awakening

TITLE: "Adventures in Clubbing"  
  
AUTHOR: Doctor Strangelove (strangelove317@hotmail.com)  
RATING: PG-13  
SPOILERS: Um, I don't know. No particular spoilers. Visser Three is still Visser Three.  
FEEDBACK: I'd love it.  
DISCLAIMER: K. A. Applegate owns the Animorphs. The song is "Blue" and was written by Angie Hart and Joss Whedon.

"Adventures in Clubbing"

Written by: Doctor Strangelove

_ "Can I make it right?"_

_ "Can I spend the night?"_

The rain poured down on my face as I listened to the preacher guy rambling. Reading from the Bible and saying kind words about someone he'd never met. He was kind, he was loved, he'll be missed, he's in a better place. The standard bullshit said to make the parent's feel better.

I couldn't even look at Tom's mom and dad. They just sat there crying. Jake was next to them, staring intently on the coffin. He was trying to be strong but I could see the tears running down his face. Rachel might've been the worst. She didn't show any emotion. She just sat there, stoned face. It scared me. I don't know what I looked like and I don't want to know. I might've been crying. I don't know.

I sat there wishing it was over. The funeral was tight, constricted; I couldn't breathe. I really didn't want to be there. But I had to be. I had no choice. It was my fault. My responsibility. I killed Tom.

Finally the guy finished talking. It was over. All that's left was the body. So that's where Tom's legacy ends. Just another hole in the ground in Restful Pines Cemetery. I stared at the mahogany casket. It was a closed casket ceremony. I wasn't supposed to know that. I wasn't supposed that Tom's body had been so mangled and destroyed that it was no longer recognizable. But I did. I had seen the body. 

Jake stood up and walked over to the casket. I followed him. We stood there in silence while I struggled for the words. "Jake, I'm sor-" 

I stared at the rubble that had collapsed on Tom. I was paralyzed. All I could do was stare. Oh, my God. Someone said that. It might've been Tobias. It might've been me. 

Marco, That one was definitely Tobias. A Hork-Bajir hand landed on my shoulder and Tobias turned me around to face him. Marco, we've got to get out of here. 

I could only blink in response, Tom. 

Tobias paused and the expression on his face fell a little. Well, as much as a Hork-Bajir's face will let it fall. I know. But, Marco, they're going to be sending backup soon. We have got to go and we've got to go now. 

I nodded. He was right. We had to go. Tobias tightened his grip on my arm and pulled me over to one of the hallways. We started to run the best we could but soon stopped dead in our tracks. There was a sound like metal being shifted around. Someone behind us was still alive. 

I turned around just in time to see the metal that had crushed Tom go flying across the room. One shard left a small gash in my arm but I didn't pay any attention. Because where the pile of rubble should've been, where Tom's corpse should be, was Tom. 

_"Warm skin,"_

His clothes were tattered and he had a few scratches but he was very much alive. 

_"Wolf grin,"_

I didn't really get time to celebrate because Tom had quickly crossed the room and grabbed my arm. He twisted it back hard and I growled in pain. He lifted me off the ground by my broken arm and threw me into the nearby wall. My landing shook the room and left a serious dent in the wall. 

I heard a loud roar and looked up in time to see Tobias about to hit me. I rolled over as fast as I could but the blades on his body, blades meant for cutting bark, cut my broken arm. Tobias had it worse though, his left arm was missing entirely. 

We exchanged a glance and nodded in understanding. Tom could kick our asses from here to Tuesday one on one. He may not be as strong if we increased the odds in our favor. As Tom was walking towards us, brandishing Tobias's arm like a weapon, we rushed him and sent him sliding into the wall. 

_"High tide,"_

He was down, but not out. 

_"Inside,"_

Tobias quickly picked up something off the floor and we hauled ass down one of the halls. We ran as fast as we could. I knew Tom was strong, but I was praying he wasn't fast too. Either my prayers worked or Tom decided not to follow us. Whatever it was, before I knew it Tobias and I were out in an alley. Tobias demorphed immediately, the blood loss was pretty severe, but I waited to make sure we weren't followed. Not that I'd be that good if we were followed. 

After a few minutes I decided a gorilla in an alley might attract some attention. I quickly demorphed and then went into my harrier morph. We needed to get the hell away from there. When I finished I looked over at Tobias. Even as a hawk he looked shaken by the previous events. He was also holding something in his talons. 

For some reason unbeknownst to me, I shuddered. What's that? 

A disk, or something. His voice quiet. I didn't like it. It scared me. Tom dropped it after... Oh, God. After we knocked him into the wall, it fell out of his pocket. I figured it might be helpful. 

Hope so. Or maybe it's just an illegal copy of _The Sims_. A joke. Sometimes those are pretty helpful in dark situations. 

Yeah, maybe. I think my little joke calmed Tobias down some. 

We didn't say another word, we just headed for the skies. Riding the thermals far away from the madhouse we were just at. I felt like doing a Charlton Hesston and screaming, "It's a madhouse. A madhouse!". 

I hit Tom. A gorilla hit a human at full force, knocked him into a wall, and then a ton of machinery collapsed on him. That guy should be dead for numerous reasons. 

_"Can I make it right?"_

But he wasn't. Tom was still alive. And then he kicked mine and Tobias's respective asses. A gorilla and a Hork-Bajir. That should not have happened. 

_"Can I spend the night,"_

I know I should be happy Tom was alive. But a tiny little voice in the back of my head was whispering to me. And it was probably right. For some dark reason, I was really wishing that I had killed Tom. Right then I really wanted him to be dead. 

_"Alone?"_

* * *

**To reviewers: Jinako-Chan: **Okay, Tom's not dead. I didn't kill him. But I believe you'll agree with me in saying that something is definitely up with the boy. Yep, everyone kept there pants on. There'll be no sex. At least not for a long time. What started as one little story is rapidly becoming a series of fics. I'll be busy for a while. "Never underestimate the kicking ability of a panicked female who has been trained to kick." That's just funny. Besides the song and using a dream as foreshadowing, there wasn't a lot of Buffy in the dream. I used the song again this chapter, it just seemed to fit. Who says that dream _wasn't _a good omen. Okay, it's not a good omen Well, sort of. It _is _an omen for things to come. Let me just say, that's not the last time you'll see that dream.   
**Aqua Rhapsody: **Thank you! You don't have to explain if you don't review every chapter. It doesn't bother me. But it is greatly appreciated.  
**You'll know eventually:**Thank you, I'm pretty proud of that dream. The short battle scene bugged me too, but I think I did a better job this chapter. Fight scenes are hard to do in fanfic.  
**Aaren: **The Oedipus thing makes sense. To me, anyway. You've got to think outside the box, don't use mother and father in the traditional sense. But I'll give you this, do either Tom or Ax have anything in common with Marco's mother?  



	11. Checkpoint

TITLE: "Adventures in Clubbing"  
  
AUTHOR: Doctor Strangelove (strangelove317@hotmail.com)  
RATING: PG-13  
SPOILERS: Um, I don't know. No particular spoilers. Visser Three is still Visser Three.  
FEEDBACK: I'd love it.  
DISCLAIMER: K. A. Applegate owns the Animorphs. 

"Adventures in Clubbing"

Written by: Doctor Strangelove

My name is Marco. About two and a half weeks ago Jake, the fearless leader of the Animorphs, got sick. So he left his girlfriend in charge. Now, I'm not saying Cassie's a bad leader, but if it were me, I would've left Rachel in charge of all of us. Or just decided that we all take a vacation. That'd be nice. 

Anyway, our buddy Erek, the Chee, found out that the Yeerks had some plan to acquire more Controllers. A gay club for teens. So I, with the help of my other buddy Ax, infiltrated. I kissed Ax. We ran into Tom. I kissed Ax again. We danced. 

Cassie devised a new plan: I should seduce Tom into letting me in on the Yeerks' secret. Did I mention that a really scrawny guy beat the crap out of a football player at the club? Did I mention that Cassie's plans suck?

So I spent a week or so getting close to Tom. I, being the complete idiot that I am, start to fall for the Yeerk's charms. Oh, right, did I mention I'm bisexual? Something I found out recently. Because I also realized I had fallen in love with Ax.

Now according to Tobias, another buddy (I've got a lot of those), Ax felt the same way. Great! Everything was peaches and cream. I was willing to ignore the whole gay/interspecies thing, because I felt that Ax and I could make something work. I was at least willing to give it a shot. Ax apparently did not feel the same way. He had reasons. 

That was two nights ago. I haven't seen him since.

I run into Tom. Deciding that he's really sweet and a lot like Jake (something I _really_ don't want to get into) I spend the night with him. Nothing happened. Pervert. In the morning, yesterday morning in fact, I realized what a mistake that was.

So I go back to the club with Tobias in tow. We break into the back room, alarms go off and I vent some frustration on some handy Hork-Bajir and Taxxons. And Tom.

A blow that should've killed him, I was a gorilla after all, did not. A whole bunch of machinery collapsed on him. Nope, still alive. Not even a scratch. He also kicked mine and Tobias's respective asses. I mean really. That was one of the worst beatings I had ever taken. Tobias and I managed to knock him down long enough to escape. Tobias also picked up a disk or something Tom dropped. Very handy. Hopefully.

So, that's where we are. That was last night. Now, it's a Thursday afternoon at Cassie's barn. There's me, Tobias, Rachel, Cassie, and a newly well Jake. He still kinda looks sick. He knows now. They all do. That story, they know it. Okay, they know I "pretended" to like Tom and they know what happened with him. They don't know about Ax. Not even Tobias. Unless of course, Ax told Bird Boy what happened. Maybe he also explained why it happened. Sorry, I'm a little bitter.

"So," I let it hang there. I didn't have anything to add. I was scared, to tell you the truth. Everything in the last two or however many weeks terrified me.

Jake looked older than I've ever seen him. Partly because of the illness I guess, but I bet a lot of that's from the story. It shook us all. No one wanted Tom dead, not really. But the fact that he lived. The fact that the Yeerks had done something to him. Well, that chilled us all to the bone.

Erek's gonna check out the disk, Tobias offered. Good old Tobias. Always ready to break the silence. He said it was encrypted, it might take him a while. Plus, it's not, you know, a regular floppy disk. Some Yeerk technology. Might clue us in on what they're doing.

There was some more silence. What they were doing? It seemed obvious, to me at least. They were building some army of super strong, invincible warriors. Good plan. Wish we had though of it. Although, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it's a robot of Tom and the real one's safe and sound. Maybe.

Everyone just sat in a still silence for a while. No one moved. No one spoke. I'd bet money some of us weren't even breathing. It was scary. So much had happened.

There were so many things going on. Ax, Tom, Jake. All of that. Maybe now that Jake's better, things will run smoother. Maybe.

After all that stuff, after everything, I can't help shake the feeling that this is only the beginning.

Maybe.

* * *

**To reviewers: I'm taking just a little break from this fic. Just a short one. To plan things out. The next update will be in April. Plus, a note to all readers. The Tom and his mysterious strength and such will all be covered later. Probably in the next chapter or so.  
Jinako-Chan: **I thought the funeral scene might confuse some people. That was just a flash of Marco's imagination. The only place it happened was in his brain. When the thing fell on Tom, Marco's brain popped that image in his head. Not exactly a recurring dream. Just seeing it from different people's perspective. When "I Am Jake" (the Jake fic I talked about) comes out you'll see what I mean. Ax will be returning although not soon. I mean, in the timeline of the fic it'll probably be the day of this chapter or the next. But I've got other people's POV I'm doing first. Like Tom and Tom's Yeerk and Marco. Or course Marco. Now that "Be Stupid" is over, where will I get my inspiration. Perhaps if "Threads of Fate" has some nummy M/A slash?  
**Aaren: **I'm gonna cover the Oedipus thing later, but not for a while. So don't worry too much about that. It's mostly foreshadowing for later stuff. The Tom's strength thing will be covered. Probably in the next chapter.

* * *

**Next chapter: **"Looking Outside" from Tom's POV. What Tom thinks of everything going on at the club. Plus, some back story on how he became so strong.

  



	12. Looking Outside

TITLE: "Adventures in Clubbing"  
  
AUTHOR: Doctor Strangelove (strangelove317@hotmail.com)  
RATING: PG-13  
SPOILERS: Um, I don't know. No particular spoilers. Visser Three is still Visser Three.  
FEEDBACK: I'd love it.  
DISCLAIMER: K. A. Applegate owns the Animorphs. 

"Adventures in Clubbing"

Written by: Doctor Strangelove

My name is Tom Berenson. When some people tell their story, the keep their name hidden. It doesn't really matter if you know who I am. Because it'll probably be too late.

You see, I'm not exactly alone in my body. An alien lives in me too. Now before you go calling the local nut house, allow me to explain. You see, there are these things called Yeerks. They look like slugs, only bigger. And they're aliens. 

You know how in movies, aliens always come to Earth, guns blazin' and bombs going off and everything? The Yeerks aren't like that. Oh, they're here to enslave us all right, but they're much more subtle.

They creep into your brain through your ear and basically they become you. They have your thoughts, your memories, everything about you. They're the universe's greatest actors; they're better at being you than you are. And you're still there. You're still alive, seeing through your eyes, hearing through your ears, feeling with your hands. You're just not in control.

Someone else is blinking your eyes, someone else is chewing your food, doing your homework, talking to your friends, kissing your girlfriend. All of that, it's not you anymore. You're just on the inside, looking out as your life passes by. As your friends and family are enslaved too. Sound like a horrible life? It is. Trust me.

That's my life.

About two years ago or so I was just happy being on the sophomore basketball team. It was great. I was popular, I was doing reasonably well in school. And I was in love. Sixteen and in love, is there a better thing in the world?

His name was Jason. Yeah, _his _name. You see, I'm gay. Back when I was still the one living my life that thought freaked the hell out of me. When I was in eighth grade I was just surfing the internet, looking for some stuff on school, when I sorta stumbled upon a website. Now, I'm not gonna go into detail on what was there, but suffice it to say, it wasn't the sort of thing I wanted anyone to walk in on.

What really freaked me out was how turned on I was by the stuff there. Way more than any girl had ever gotten me. So I panicked and logged off. Except, after that I kept going back. By the time I was a freshman in high school, I'd pretty much figured out what my sexual orientation was.

It bothered me. A lot. I didn't want to be gay. I just wanted to be like everybody else. Play basketball and video games with my friends and my little brother. God, Jake would probably have a heart attack if he knew. He looks up to me. Well, at least he used to. After I got infested with the Yeerk, I kinda changed and I don't think he liked it. So, save myself some pain and humiliation I kept it hidden and pretended to be straight. Figured it might just be a phase.

But then during my sophomore year of high school, I met Jason. Jason Montoya was a new kid at our school. He was Hispanic in ancestry, but had always lived in America. He was a little shorter than me, dark black hair, and an incredible smile. It wasn't really love at first sight or anything like that, but we bonded pretty quickly. We became instant friends and started spending a lot of time together.

Then, after one of out championship games, I went over to Jason's house. His parents were out of town and we were gonna spend the night playing basketball and video games and watching the scrambled porn channels on TV.

Okay, so it was about 2 AM, we had just gotten finished playing Mortal Kombat (I whooped Jason's ass, thank you very much). Jason was pretty upset that I won, or actually he was just pretending. So he knocked me to the ground and then we started play wrestling. Which kinda lead into a little bit of making out.

Not a lot, just some quick kisses. It ended pretty soon and we started talking. Jason said he'd known he was gay for a while, but was trying to ignore it and maybe it'd go away. I'd thought the same thing. We talked some more and Jason put his hand on my leg. I looked down at it and then we started to make out some more. Only this time it was a lot more serious and involved a little less clothing.

Jason and I bonded some more that night, if you know what I mean. I was kind of freaked out, but also very happy about it. My first time. I didn't think to much about it, and Jason and I fell asleep in each other's arms. I know that sounds really sappy and sissy romantic, but it's what happened.

A little while later I work up when I felt something on my ear. It was the Yeerk. I screamed and looked up at Jason. He was very calm and cold as he held me down with one hand and with the other helped the Yeerk go into my ear. All of a sudden, his body jerked and he screamed "NO!". Then his face went back to normal and I sorta passed out.

I woke up a little while later all alone in Jason's bed. All at once I knew something was wrong. I tried turning over, but couldn't. I couldn't move anything. That's when I felt Sonra. Sonra was the first Yeerk I had. He was an asshole. I hated him, as much as I've ever hated anyone. Not just because he had enslaved me. There was more. You see, along with the Yeerk seeing all of your mind, you can see some of the Yeerk's. Sonra had been Jason's Yeerk.

I could feel all that pain that Sonra had inflicted on Jason. Because he was showing it to me. Taunting me. Showing me that the first person I fell in love with, was the one who made me a slave in my own body. I would've cried if I could. Hey, it was a tough thing to go through. Let's see how you handle it.

But I never blamed Jason. You see, every few days the Yeerk had to return to the Yeerk pool to get Kandrona rays. Well, one of the times I was down there, Jason was too. His new Yeerk showed up the same day mine did, and we were both put in the cages at the same time. Involuntary Controllers are put in cages. Voluntary ones are treated pretty nicely. Assholes.

Anyway, Jason and I talked. He told me that he really did have feelings for me. That he really liked me. That he was incredibly sorry. That if we ever got out, he wanted to be with me again. For real. And we could be on the basketball team together and live together and do all sorts of other things. Hey, we were young and scared and in love. That night, Jason told me he loved me.

That's, of course, when things went wrong. See, the Yeerks aren't the only aliens around. There are also Andalites, weird blue centaur-like things. They can morph any animal, through some technology. They also fight the Yeerks. They're good guys, for the most part. They're also the ones who gave the Yeerks advanced technology to begin with, though.

Well, there are a couple of Andalite bandits on Earth, six of them, who fight the Yeerks. That night was the first time I'd seen them and I can only remember four. Elephant, gorilla, horse, and a tiger. I'll always remember the tiger.

The tiger broke me and Jason out of our cages. We were doing pretty good, nearly out. That's when Visser Three showed up.

Visser Three is one mean mofo. The only Yeerk with an Andalite host too. So, that night, he morphs some big ass monster and attacks the Andalites. Well, they end up losing the people they tried to save. I don't know if anyone got out. I didn't. Jason didn't either. 

One the Hork-Bajir, one of the Yeerk's hosts, attacked the Andalites. His blade slash down and cut Jason across the stomach. He grabbed his middle and fell down. Tears welled up in his eyes as he tried to keep his insides from spilling out. He didn't do a very good job. Jason died that night.

I'll never blame him for me being infested. But I blame the Andalites. As much as they want to be the heroes and even if they do mean one day I get free, I'll always hate them. It's their fault Jason is dead. I'll never forgive them for that.

Well, about a year ago I get a new host. Esthrill-Six-Two-Nine of the Sket Nair pool. Or Visser Nine, as he's so kind to mention to absolutely everyone. Vissers are kinda like the Yeerk's politicians. They lower the number, the better. Visser Nine is a pretty good position.

But Esthrill wasn't always Visser Nine. That happened pretty soon though. You see, the Yeerks have an organization they call the Sharing. Boys and girls club kinda thing. Except evil. Well, back before I was infested, Jason and I had this idea for a Sharing kind of thing, except for gay youth. 

Esthrill took my idea and mixed it with one of his own. A plan to make the ultimate warrior out of any race. Even the puny humans.

Esthrill had developed a plan that would mix some sort of steel the Yeerks got from an alien race called the Coo-Hatch, and infuse it with a host's skeleton system. To make them stronger than nearly anyone, and nearly invincible too. I was the guinea pig.

It worked. I now have some sort of metal in my bones and muscle. I can kick a gorilla's ass pretty damn easily. I can have a ton of machinery dropped on me and not even be hurt. But, Esthrill's technology has a downside. The Yeerk is stuck in the host for good.

He has a way they can still get Kandrona rays without leaving, as long as they're submerged in the Yeerk pool. So, now I don't have to worry about getting free. I'm trapped forever. Plus if the Council of Thirteen ever decides to abort this plan, there's a shut down system that will kill ever Controller with Project Esthrill (guess where he got that name) in them. It kills the host too.

But Esthrill is using this technology, plus the Sharing's new club for gay youth, to build himself an army of invincible human warriors. I'm not sure, but I know that he's got his mind on more than being Visser One.

Esthrill has some plan. I can't tell, he's hiding himself too well from me, but this guy isn't just working by himself. Something's going on with that guy. I just wish I knew what. 

On top of that, Marco Jones, my little brother's best friend, just showed up at the club a few weeks ago. Esthrill thinks Marco has potential or something, so he's got me working the mojo on the kid. That's pretty fucked up. Seducing your brother's best friend. Especially because Marco reminds me a lot of Jason. They're similar looking, have the same sense of humor, and the same smile. God, it's weird.

So, I guess that's all really. That's my story. Eighteen year old guy trapped in the middle of a war that really has nothing to do with me. I war I won't survive. Either I'll be killed by the Andalites, or the Council of Thirteen. I don't think those guys plan on letting Esthrill live too long once he's used up his usefulness.

So, either way, I'm doomed. And I guess, maybe, that's the way it should be. If I'm gonna die, maybe it means I'll get to see Jason again pretty soon. That'd be nice. 

* * *

**To reviewers:   
Jinako-Chan: **I wonder what would've happened if Rachel was leader. That'd be a neat little AU fic. Damnit, now I have a new idea. I have too many of these. Um, I don't remember exactly what chapter we see Ax-man again, but the blue dude is gonna be gone for a while. Yeah, see, foreshadowing. Way back in Chapter 2. I actually wrote that and then thought up what was really going on. Backwards foreshadowing. Yeah, I really like the Marco and Tom/Jake thing. That's why I wrote it in the beginning. I might try to do another fic with some of that in it.  
**Lisa-Ann: **Addictive you say? Like coccaine? Are you calling my fic cocaine? Are you? ARE YOU!? ...I'm very tired. Ignore me.  
**Aqua Rhapsody: **I'm not gonna stop. Don't worry. This fic and the ones after it might take little hiatuses, but I'm never gonna stop. Until I get to the end. Then you kinda have to stop.  
**Freak Apple: **Whoo-hoo! Oreos! *eats Oreos* I love it when people that don't like slash read my stuff anyway. It's nice. So are Oreos!  
**Son of Evil: ***chews Oreos* God I love reviews. You people are awesome. I need to do something special for you all. I don't know what, but I'm gonna do something. You people are great! And I love the name too.  
**_angelofshad0ws_: **Seriously, you people are awesome! Something you'd buy in the store? I don't know if it's that good, but thanks! 


	13. Big Plans

TITLE: "Adventures in Clubbing"  
  
AUTHOR: Doctor Strangelove (strangelove317@hotmail.com)  
RATING: PG-13  
SPOILERS: Um, I don't know. No particular spoilers. Visser Three is still Visser Three.  
FEEDBACK: I'd love it.  
DISCLAIMER: K. A. Applegate owns the Animorphs.   
A/N: This chapter is pretty short, Esthrill doesn't really have a lot to say that you don't already know. The good news is that I'm on spring break so I have a whole week to write. So expect about three or more new chapters in the next week. 

"Adventures in Clubbing"

Written by: Doctor Strangelove

My name is Esthrill-Six-Two-Nine of the Sket Nair pool. I am Visser Nine.

I was only recently promoted to the glorious position of Visser Nine. It was in the Earth month of September, about four months ago. I had been using a human youth named Tom as my host for nine months and during that time I had been developing a plan. A plan to create an army of super strong humans. A plan to that would allow my Master to rule much more easily.

I, unlike others of my kind, do not fear the wrath of Visser One or the Council of Thirteen. They mean nothing to me. My Master is more powerful than them all.

It was several years ago when He first contacted me. Told me I had the potential to be great. To be a general in His glorious army. I was just a lowly Yeerk, I hadn't even reached the rank of Sub-Visser, but He saw me for what I really was. A powerful warrior.

He used His powers to help me advance to Sub-Visser Six. A position where I wielded much power. Then He told me of his divine plan. I was to gather a human for infestation. I never questioned why, for I know that He has His reasons. The human was Tom Berenson.

I received great luck in that area. One of my deeply loyal subordinates, Sonra-Eight-Four-Three of the Sket Nair pool, has a host very close to this Tom.

It was not yet time for me to take Tom as my own host, so I had Sonra infest him. I took control of Sonra's host, a human youth named Jason Montoya, and assisted Sonra in taking control of Tom.

After a while though, my Master told me that it was time to take the plan into action. That was a little over one year ago. I infested Tom and took him as my host and then I saw.

Tom had an idea. A sort of club for human youths struggling with homosexuality. Proving what a fool species they are. Only arrogant busybody species repress natural sexuality. But Tom's idea, it would be an excellent way to gather more host for His divine plan.

That was Phase One. I told the plan to the higher powers of the Yeerk empire and they agreed. We began construction, under the guise of a faction of The Sharing. To make acquiring new hosts even easier, my Master gave me a serum. It would make humans more mellow and open to suggestion, making it much easier to infest. The serum is also addictive, making the humans want more of it. We put the serum in a food the humans call hot wings.

But that was only Phase One. Phase Two was making the army. My Master had ties to an intelligent race called the Coo-Hatch. They were excellent welders and had developed the strongest metal I have ever seen. We used their metal and infused it with a host's skeleton system. Making them stronger than ever before and nearly invincible. 

This plan got me promoted to Visser Nine, a position I hold with great pride. The only downside to His great plan is that the Yeerk is trapped inside the host, for good. Kept alive by the glorious Kandrona rays as long as I'm submerged in the Yeerk pool. A slight grievance, being stuck in a human body. But the strongest human alive. It has perks.

The Council of Thirteen insisted there be a reversal. Just in case. So, to appease them, my Master showed me a way to shut down all Yeerks currently residing in a superior host. It'll instantly kill the host, and the Yeerk. I do not fear, however, for I am the only Yeerk with the correct codes. The Council of Thirteen were given the false ones.

And now, His plan is in action. Soon the Yeerks, the Andalites, the humans, and all other races will see. He will show them all.

Big plans, indeed.

* * *

**To reviewers:  
Jinako-chan: **Yeah, the Jake morphing was creepy. But the idea appealed to me. I love writing Tom's POV. It's easy, there's a lot of me in there, and fun too. But I'm only going to get to do it like one more time. Shame. As for the book, well either I made a mistake and forgot something or the Yeerk that infested Jake in #6 is a liar. Yep, he's a damn dirty ape, I mean, liar. Jason being similar to Marco is not foreshadowing. He's based on a guy I know and when I was writing it I realized how similar he is to Marco. It's a coincidence. I like Tom and Jason too. And Jason will show up again, but not for a _long_ time. OOC bombs, eh? I like Hulk. I try to appease Hulk the best I can. I'm glad I cheered you up. And I don't mind long reviews. I actually like them. I seem to get a lot for this fic too.  
**lauren: **I was afraid people wouldn't fall for the April Fool's joke. It seemed kind of rushed and not like a real chapter to me.   
**_angelofshad0ws_ : **I'll keep writing. 'Cause of Spring Break I'm gonna update a lot this weekend.  
**Lisa-Ann: **A few answers, *buddy*.   
1. Hee hee. Evil!Cassie is fun.  
2. I know what Citrus Polos are. Okay, fine, I looked up what they are but that doesn't change my point. ...Did I have a point?  
3. Well, you see, I talked to K. A. Applegate and she said that she originally wanted to make Tom gay but Scholastic wouldn't allow. So, really, I'm right and the book is wrong. You can ask her yourself if you want. Her e-mail is strangelove317@hotmail.com.  
4. Okay. I'm gonna update a lot this week.  
**Aqua Rhapsody: **I seem to be on a writing streak so I made not need to take a break for a while.  
**Aaren: **No, the Jason resembling Marco thing was a coincidence. I liked Tom's POV too, and I'm gonna try to work him in more, 'cause he's fun to write. I agree, slash is good if no PWP. It's actually possible to have slash and _not_ have sex in it. Like this fic. Well, there was implied sex. But for the most part...  
**Silent Emotionalist: **Yeah, fan! I love you people. I'm not gonna stop till I get to the end.  
**Myself: **...ROTFLMAO! I didn't even think of that when I wrote it. But Jake's not gonna be naked in this fic anymore so I guess we'll never know. I brought back the chicken wings (briefly), just for you.**  
**


	14. He Sees Dead People

TITLE: "Adventures in Clubbing"  
  
AUTHOR: Doctor Strangelove (strangelove317@hotmail.com)  
RATING: PG-13  
SPOILERS: Um, I don't know. No particular spoilers. Visser Three is still Visser Three.  
FEEDBACK: I'd love it.  
DISCLAIMER: K. A. Applegate owns the Animorphs. 

"Adventures in Clubbing"

Written by: Doctor Strangelove

My name is Marco and I seriously have no idea what I'm doing here. Here is the Sharing's club, for those of you keeping score at home. I mean, I can't sneak into the back room without morphing and the backroom sets off alarms or something whenever someone goes back there in morph. Plus, if we ever find away back there, how do we get past Über-Tom? It sucks.

But here I am, still checking it out. Seeing if anything comes up. By myself too. I'm bored as hell. On the plus side, the hot wings are pretty good.

I sighed, "God, this sucks."

"Yeah, it sounds like quite the predicament."

I turned at the voice and saw that someone had taken the seat next to me. He looked a little older than me, Hispanic, dark hair. Taller than me. Then again, who isn't?

"What does?" I asked, wondering who this guy was.

"Well, that whole thing you were talking about." He said it like it should be obvious. "The backroom, the alarms, and of course Über-Tom. Cute nickname, by the way."

"Wait, I was just thinking about it. How did you know..." At that point some random guy walked past and stared like I was a crazy man. "What's with him?"

"Oh, right," My new guest said, "You see all these people?" I nodded. "Yeah, they can't see me. Or hear me for that matter. It looks like you're talking to yourself. You probably look like you're crazy."

"They can't see you? What are you, like the Ellimist?"

The Hispanic guy laughed, "No, I don't have that kinda power. I'm just a ghost."

A _ghost_!? "A ghost? Who the hell are you?"

He smiled, "A friend."

"I don't know you."

"Well I never said I was yours."

"So, you got a name?"

"Yeah, I'm Jason. And you're Marco (he said my last name too), right? Man, that'd be embarrassing. I come down here, forewarn you and all that, and it turns out you're the wrong Marco."

"No, that's me. Wait, forewarn me?"

"Oh, yeah." Suddenly Jason's laidback demeanor changed and his eyes went blank. "Marco, you are in great danger. When He comes, you won't be able to stop Him. You won't be able to fight. But you may be able to win. You have to know who to trust.

His eyes went back to normal, and he was again acting like a normal teenager. "Yeah, okay, I think I'm done here. See ya later!"

Jason started to fade away. "Wait, wait, wait!" He faded back into sight. "What the hell was that about?"

Jason sighed and rubbed his temples, "Uh, it was obviously a warning against the great danger that's going to come and kill you all. Okay, well I gotta go."

"Great danger? There's a great danger coming to kill us? Like the Yeerks?"

Jason laughed, "Oh, you'll wish it were the Yeerks. Trust me, this guy? Much worse."

"What are you talking about?"

"Ugh! Great. Evil. Coming. To Kill. You. All. Why is that so hard to understand!?"

"You're saying some great evil is coming to kill us and there's nothing we can do to stop Him?"

Jason nodded, "Exactly. Can I go now?"

"No!" A bunch of people turned at my sudden outburst so I lowered my voice. "No. But you said there's someway to win. How? Can you be more specific?"

"No, not really. It's against the rules."

"Rules?"

"Yeah. You see, if a deceased creature returns to the mortal plain to giving a warning, prophecy, whatever, they have to be cryptic about it. We know things you don't and aren't allowed to interfere. Hell, I'm not even supposed to be here. Ellimist or Crayak have to give their permission for this. I'm gonna get in so much trouble."

"If you're gonna get in trouble, why are you even here?"

"I kinda have a personal interest in this. I am, or was, close to some of the people involved. Now, for you to win and survive His coming, you have to be careful of who you trust. People you think are your friends are going to betray you."

"Like Tom?"

Jason paused before answering, "Tom you don't need to worry about. You're only dealing with the Yeerk. If Tom, the real Tom, shows up, you'll recognize him. Just worry about your other friends."

"Like you? You're all acting like you're my friend. How do I know I can trust you?"

"Ooh, you're a smart boy. Here." Jason pulled a ring of his finger that I swear wasn't there a minute ago. "Take this. His followers will lie to your face, but they'll all be wearing this."

I took a look at the ring. It was black with a golden pattern, a spiral with an eye in the center. I slipped it into my pocket. "Thanks. Anything else I should know?"

"No, that's it. No, wait. Um, the Tom guy? That whole thing where you're dating him and all with the seducing and kissing? You should stop that. It's not gonna help anything."

"Are you sure? I mean-"

"I'm sure, all right? Just, cut it out."

"Okay. Sure."

Jason started to flicker in and out of view. "Damn. I can't hold on any longer. I'll see you later, Marco. Good luck and everything. Oh," He pointed to the hot wings. "I'd be careful of those, if I were you."

"Oh, and I hope things work out with you and that Ax fellow. He's very cute."

"What?" But Jason was gone.

_Great, _I thought. _Just what I need. Relationship advice from a ghost._

* * *

**To reviewers:  
Jinako-chan: **You know who the Master is? I doubt it, but maybe. Just curious, who do you think it is? I won't say if you're right or wrong, I just wanna know. The hot wings aren't a major plot point, just part of the bigger picture. They're not gonna lead to anything important. Probably. Jason wasn't gonna be in this chapter, originally this chapter was a lot different, but Jason just fits so much better. And it helps things later on. See, not associated with Tom's death. Why are you so adamant that Tom's gonna die? Walsh, eh? I kept looking at teacher names and never noticed that. I noticed Tompson, however. Let me ask you something, I've already started writing Jake's fic. So, should I go ahead and put it up or what till this is done?  
**EsotericEric: **One of the best slash writers? I don't know about that, but thanks!  
**Aaren: **Ow! I know they're short. I'm gonna work on making them longer, but so far I just don't have that much to do in each chapter. Later fics will be longer.  
**Myself: **Aw. I'm gonna keep bringing the hot wings back. Basically every club chapter will have them. And I asked Cassie about Jake, and she said "Average. Ish. Average-ish. I guess. Maybe." I'm not really sure what that means. Maybe it'll come up in another fic, though. **  
Lisa-Ann: **E-mail? Perfectly legitimate! *looks around* Heh, heh. Nothing weird at all. *awkward pause* Anyway! That is certainly incentive enough for me. I don't want to get eaten by brats. **  
**


	15. Comfort Food

TITLE: "Adventures in Clubbing"  
  
AUTHOR: Doctor Strangelove (strangelove317@hotmail.com)  
RATING: PG-13  
SPOILERS: Um, I don't know. No particular spoilers. Visser Three is still Visser Three.  
FEEDBACK: I'd love it.  
DISCLAIMER: K. A. Applegate owns the Animorphs. 

"Adventures in Clubbing"

Written by: Doctor Strangelove

My name is Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill. I have a very strong suspicion that I am a moron. 

You see Marco, the human youth who I thought I had a crush on but I'm pretty sure it's more than that, well he told me he loved me. I, of course, "freaked out" and ran off. Now I had all sorts of reasons like my Andalite home world and their prejudices and why am I tell you this? You already read about that. It'd get boring if I recapped the whole story each time I told you more. Much like television shows do every week.

Anyway, you most likely only want to hear what's happened since then, right? Right. Well after that fateful night, I spent some time by myself. Well, not really by myself, just away from the Animorphs. I spent a lot of time at the mall. I have discovered that Cinnabons are excellent at making me forget about my pain. As are nachos, popcorn, chocolate, sugar, Skittles, chocolate, ice cream, tacos, shrimp-fried rice, chocolate, sushi, cigarette butts, chocolate, and just about any other food you could name. Yes, food is good. The food court might be the finest invention the humans ever created. Next to television, obviously.

Well, the nice security guards at the food court eventually got tired of me and kicked me out. I may or may not have been taking sweets from infants.

So, after that I rooted around in the dumpsters. It worked pretty well for a while, I found a hamburger that only had one bite in it. But then a strange smelling man chased me away and kept yelling that he had to make waffles for his "Jesus bag".

After that, I headed to Waffle House. And then McDonald's. And then Blimpie, Chick-Fil-A, Sonic's, Bamboo Garden, Burger King, Dairy Queen, the 7-Eleven, the Sharing's club, Ruby Tuesday's, Applebees, Pizza Hut, Doublemeat Palace, Subway, Domino's, Papa John's, Taco Bell, the dumpster outside of Taco Bell, KFC, and the movie theater. Long story short, those places really like it when you have money.

So then I headed back to my scoop and ate all of the food I had stored there. I am now down to half a package of onion rings. And a couple of chicken wings I saved from the Sharing's club. 

Now that my gluttonous rampage has slowed down I've had time to think and learn. Don't mix soda and Pop Rocks. That's about all I've learned.

I really think I made a mistake with Marco. I know that a relationship with a male human would have a few small problems, to say the least. But so what? I mean, who cares if my peoples get upset. I wouldn't be dating them. I'd be dating Marco. If he makes me happy, then who do they think they are to tell me it's not right. If you love someone, shouldn't you be with them?

That's a nice little sentiment, isn't it? I wish I had the balls to actually do that.

But I don't. Yet. So for now, I'll just stuff my face and wallow in self-pity. Sounds like a plan. 

Hey, buddy. I looked up from the television set to see Tobias flying overhead. He quickly landed next to me and morphed to human. "What's up, Ax?" 

I stared at him for a moment. He seemed downright... well, giddy. "Not a lot. I'm just snacking and watching _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_."

"Cool," Tobias reached over a grabbed a chicken wing. "What's going on?"

"It's the episode where they go to their prom. Buffy fights the hellhounds and gets the Class Protector award. And Angel breaks up with her in a sewer because he can't be with her for his own selfish reasons." I scoffed under my breath. "Idiot."

Tobias shrugged, "I don't know if I would call them selfish. I mean, he did it so she could have an easier life."

"But he loves her. More than anything. If those two love each other, they should stay together. Love isn't easy. And besides, did her life really get easier when he left?"

"I guess so. You know, when I watch this show I see my friends as the characters sometimes."

"What?"

"Well, look how similar Rachel and Buffy are? Pretty similar."

"I see."

"And I see myself as Angel." I glared at my shorm and raised an eyebrow. "Well, we're both quiet and kinda broody. Okay, maybe I'm just full of myself."

"Perhaps. But I think I understand what you mean."

"Yeah. So, what do you think?"

"Of what?"

"Who do you see people as? For instance, oh say, Marco?"

I thought about it. "Oz."

"Oz? Really? I guess they've got the height. But I see Marco as more of a Xander."

"Yes, but Oz is so much more..." I paused. I couldn't really think of why Oz came to mind. Besides the height.

"Cooler? Funnier? _Sexier_?" I glared at him again. "Sorry.

"So, speaking of Marco, have you talked to him lately?"

I groaned, Tobias knew of my feelings of Marco, but he didn't know what had happened between us. He didn't know had confessed _his _love to me and I didn't plan on telling Tobias about it. "Perhaps."

"Really? You two, you know, talk about anything interesting?" 

Then it hit me. The questions, the tone of voice, the giddiness. Tobias knew. He knew that Marco had come to talk to me. But how?

Of course! He told Marco how I felt. He must've. He was trying to set us up. But then, that means... "You don't know."

"Know what?"

"You told Marco how I felt about him?"

Tobias blushed and looked down at the ground sheepishly, "Yeah. Well, you see, Ax-man, you were taking so long. I know he feels the same way about you. But that was a few days ago, so I figured you two must've talked by now. Have you two... talked?"

I nodded grimly.

"Well, what did he say?"

There was no use lying. "He said he loved me."

Tobias nearly jumped up, "Ax, that's great! Now you two can go and be togeth-"

"I ran away."

Tobias's cheerful demeanor instantly faded. "What?" He asked, his voice cracking.

"I ran away." I repeated. "I told him that everything was too much for me. So I ran away. Marco told me he loved me and I left him."

Tobias's jaw was on the ground. Figuratively. He struggled for words. "Oh." He finally managed.

I picked up the last onion ring and shoved it in my mouth. "I was wrong."

Tobias looked more baffled than ever. "Huh?"

"What I did. I was wrong. I did the wrong thing. I should've stayed."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. But it's too late for that now."

Tobias put his hand on my shoulder, "Hey, buddy, it's neve-"

I didn't hear the rest.

Before me I saw some horrible figure. He was big and muscular, his four arms were well tanned and covered in spikes. His mouth was filled with fangs and three large horns were protruding from his forehead. His eyes were white. No pupil, no iris, just white. He stared at me and smiled. one of his fist shot forward.

I screamed out in pain. Pain is an understatement. I felt like someone had skinned me alive and set me fire. The beast's fist punched clear through my stomach and came back coated in hot, sticky blood. 

I fell to the ground clutching my middle region. I tried screaming but no sound came out. I tried to hold the blood in, but I knew it would do no good. Deep down I knew.

I was dying.

* * *

**To reviewers: Hey, I just noticed that "Adventures In Clubbing" had just become my longest fic ever! Yeah, take that "Reprise"!  
Jinako-chan: **I like Jason too. And no, Esthrill's master is not Crayak. The One? Well, we'll just have to wait and see. Although this chapter might give you some hints. I think I'm gonna wait and finish off "Adventures in Clubbing" before posting "I Am Jake". Because that ones is a lot shorter (like six chapters), and if I keep writing, updates will be quicker. And the last four chapters of "I Am Jake" tie in with this so you might have to wait weeks for a new chapter. No, I think finishing this first is the best idea. And as long as slash comes _eventually _I'll be happy. Just tell me this, will it happen in Chronicle One, or will I have to wait till a whole new fic?  
**Lisa-Ann: **Yeah, things are starting to get weird. It'll all be explained. Soon. Well, maybe not soon, but eventually.  
**Aaren: **Hmm, Cuban American mother, eh? Maybe. *thinks* Nah, maybe not. I work on longer chapters but I just have nothing to say. So instead you get a lot of short chapters.   
**Myself: **My 100th review! YAY! *dances around* Ahem, anyway. The chicken wings are fun. I'm now on a mission to include them in every chapter.


	16. Shorm

TITLE: "Adventures in Clubbing"  
  
AUTHOR: Doctor Strangelove (strangelove317@hotmail.com)  
RATING: PG-13  
SPOILERS: Um, I don't know. No particular spoilers. Visser Three is still Visser Three.  
FEEDBACK: I'd love it.  
DISCLAIMER: K. A. Applegate owns the Animorphs. 

"Adventures in Clubbing"

Written by: Doctor Strangelove

"Ax!" I had been trying to console the Andalite when he suddenly fell to the ground screaming. Ax was clutching his stomach and weeping deeply. His mouth kept opening like he was trying to scream, but no sound was coming out. 

I dropped to my knees and tried to figure out what was wrong. "Ax, what's wrong?" His eyes drifted to behind me and went wide with fear. His mouth opened and he made a strange gasping sound. I whirled my head around, but there was nothing there. "Ax, what is it?"

Ax finally seemed to notice me. Tears streamed down his face, which looked mangled with pain. "Jake?"

Then he passed out.

It was about twenty minutes before Ax woke up. I had just sat there for the entire time, I didn't know what else to do.

As soon as his eyes were open Ax was looking around wildly. "Where is he?" He stood up and started fearfully eyeing the scoop.

"Where's who?"

Ax turned to looked at me, his eyes wide with terror. "Balthazar."

"Who?"

Ax stopped searching the scoop. He stood there for a moment and then turned back to me. "I don't know."

"You don't know who he is, but you know his name?" Ax slowly nodded. "Ax, what the hell happened?"

Ax shook his head and sat down again. He stared at his stomach and lifted up his shirt to feel. He had a bewildered expression on his face. "There was someone... I saw someone."

I sat down next to Ax. "Balthazar?"

"Yes. He was some large creature. He had horns and four arms. He attacked me."

"Attacked you?"

Ax nodded. "He punched a hole through my stomach. All the way through. I felt like I was dying."

"Ax, there was no one here."

"There wasn't?" 

"No, you just fell over and started screaming. I though that-"

"No." Ax interrupted me. "There had to have been someone. He was here. I... He hit me. I felt it. I saw him. I saw the blood. It was real."

"Well, I didn't see anyone. Or any blood. And you're pretty hole-free at the moment."

Ax nodded reluctantly. We both just sat there, unsure of what to say.

After a few minutes I broke the silence. "Jake."

"What?"

"You called me Jake."

"I... called you Jake?"

"Yeah. After you fell to the ground. You looked up at me and said 'Jake'."

Ax thought about that, "I don't remember... I don't remember. Just Balthazar."

"What's up with that? I mean, you're seeing things, and feeling them, and you know this guy's name. You sure you've never seen him before? Like at school or something?"

"No. And he wasn't any species I recognized. I don't know how I know his name. I just do."

Again we sat there. I wanted to comfort Ax. After all the things that had happened with Marco, and now this Balthazar guy. I really wanted to help him out. But I didn't know what to do. And then I had an idea.

I stood up. "Come on, Ax."

Ax stood up but gave me a quizzical look. "Where are we going?"

"Where we can get help."

We were going to see Cassie. Okay, now I know that doesn't really seem like it would help. But, you see, our plan was to call all of the other Animorphs together. Maybe, together, we could figure things out. 

And we had a lot to figure out. Tom, the whole Yeerk's plan, and now this guy. Something weird was definitely going on.

So the two of us demorphed (and then Ax morphed to his bird morph) and we went on our way to Cassie's. And then I realized, I hadn't seen Ax for a few days. He didn't know about Tom.

Well, now's as good a time as any. Hey, Ax.

Yes, Tobias?

You don't know about everything going down at the club, do you?

No.

Great.

What's happening?

Well, you remember that scrawny Controller you and Marco saw at the club? The super-strong one?

Yes.

Well, we've finally figured out what they're up to. Or we've got some idea, at least.

It seems like the Yeerks are making an army or something of people that are, well, super-strong.

I believe we had already come to that conclusion.

Yeah, but... But then I realized that Ax was right. We hadn't really learned anything new. We weren't even sure that they were building an army. They could have other ideas. So, in fact, the only thing we really learned was, Tom was there?

Tom? He's been at the club before. In fact, he usually is there.

He was in the backroom. Whatever the Yeerks' plan is, they've already got to Tom. He was strong. Way strong. Kicked mine and Marco's asses.

That's bad.

That it is, my friend. Plus, there's some kind of morph alarm guarding the place. We'll have to figure out a new way to get in, if we're ever gonna go back.

Hmm.

And, Ax? About the whole thing with Marco? I know you're probably sick of meddling-

A little, yes.

Well, this is my last meddle. First of all, I'm sorry. I was just trying to help you out. I didn't want it to turn out like that.

Next, though, I'm not sorry for telling Marco about how you feel. It's pretty damn obvious he likes you, or as he _told _you, he loves you. Now, I know you've got all your reason for running away. I respect that. But you really need to talk to him. Or else things are just going to be weird between you and you'll never get a chance to be with him.

And I am now done meddling.

Ax remained silent and then, Thank you, Tobias.

Hey, what are shorms for?

Ax? Tobias? 

A harrier flew up next to Ax and me. Cassie?

The harrier nodded, it looked really weird. I've been looking for you guys everywhere. There's a meeting at my barn. Erek's decoded the disk you found. And Marco has some big news as well.

Wow, good timing. We were just headed over there. We've got something too. Something weird happened to Ax.

Weird? Well, come on. You can tell the rest of the gang.

With that, the three of us headed to Cassie's barn. I don't know what happened to Ax or who this Balthazar guy was. I don't know what's going on with the Yeerks. Really, all I know is that we, the Animorphs, together, we're gonna beat it.

_Silly boy. You honestly think you're going to interfere with _my _plans? Heh heh heh. You really don't know who you're dealing with_

_ None of you do. You think you'll defeat me? I'm not something you can fight, silly mortals. I'm something you're puny brains can't even comprehend. You have no idea._

_ But soon you'll see. You all will._

* * *

**To reviewers: Oh, that last part wasn't Tobias's POV.  
stumbeline: **A new reader! Yes! I converted another to Marco/Ax. I'm glad you like it. Thank you.  
**Jinako-Chan: **Oh come on, cliffhangers are fun. I liked Ax eating a lot. That just appealed to me. The "Jesus bag" and waffles are an inside joke. On this school field trip, I was sleepwalking in the hotel and apparently said "I have to make waffle's for my Jesus bag." I have no idea what it means. I didn't write it right, Ax went to all those restaurants, but didn't get that much food because he had little money, it had all been wasted at the food court. So he had to go to his scoop for more nourishment. Ooh, spoilers. I'm addicted to spoilers, but I'm trying to cut back. There should be spoiler rehab for those suffering spoiler withdrawal. I see Ax as Anya. Definitely Anya. And if Marco is Xander... Well, they're not together anymore. Now Anya belongs with Giles. Um, anyway. Your friends made you Buffy? I got stuck with Andrew. It's not the One. Okay, so I'll eventually get my slash. If I write a sequel to "Boys Will Be Boys" where something happens to Jake's testicles, will that help get slash sooner?  
**Aqua Rhapsody: **I like the "I Am Jake" fic, it's gonna be neat. And it will clear up a lot of stuff about this fic.  
**Myself: **Yeah, this is probably my least favorite chapter. It was mostly filler, except for that part at the end. No hot wings this chapter, they just didn't fit in. Sorry. Maybe the next one. I'll try.  
**Lisa-Ann: **He probably does. He's eaten a lot. And it's not off the scale. More like a 6.  
**Aaren: **Hmm, black nail polish. I'll think about it. Okay, for the hot wings, how about a compromise. Every _other_ chapter, maybe?  
**Alara-Sinirial-Amalon: **A lot of people that don't like slash like this. Weird. But cool. And Ax is not dead. I guarantee 100% that Ax will survive this fic.  



	17. Heated Conversations

TITLE: "Adventures in Clubbing"  
  
AUTHOR: Doctor Strangelove (strangelove317@hotmail.com)  
RATING: PG-13  
SPOILERS: Um, I don't know. No particular spoilers. Visser Three is still Visser Three.  
FEEDBACK: I'd love it.  
DISCLAIMER: K. A. Applegate owns the Animorphs. 

"Adventures in Clubbing"

Written by: Doctor Strangelove

My name is Marco. Currently I was in Cassie's barn, along with Jake, Rachel, and Erek, waiting for Cassie to arrive with Tobias and Ax in tow. Yeah, that's gonna be fun. _You're not even the littlest bit excited about seeing Ax again?_ I ignored my stupid, stupid brain and tried to think about what Erek's big news was. He had probably decoded the disk Tobias found and wanted to wait till we were all here before he revealed the secrets of said disk. That would make sense. It totally was not what was going to happen.

I could tell that just by looking at Erek. See, here's the thing, people do things when they're bored or nervous or something. Jake was currently pacing around the barn like a mad man. Rachel was getting very impatient and was muttering curse words under her breath. I was seeing how many television theme songs I knew by heart (fourteen). But Erek, well Erek was just sitting there, staring into space. For an age-old android, you think he could fake human emotions a little better.

On top of whatever Erek knew about Über-Tom, I was still debating what to say about Jason. Do I just tell my friends that I was visited by a ghost. They'd think I was crazy. I mean, it's not like I name knives or paint clowns or wanted to be a florist or anything, I just see dead people. Oh yeah, that doesn't sound crazy at all. Hey, maybe after all that had happened with the Yeerks, I had gone crazy. I could just see that happening. But then, Jason gave me that ring. That was definitely real. 

Cassie took this opportunity to finally show up. With Tobias. And Ax. Well, turns out the blue-boy didn't disappear. Someone finally found him. I'm not really sure if I was happy about that or what. I mean, I didn't want Ax dead, but I really didn't feel like seeing him. Yet there he was. Not dead, which was good. He was also avoiding my eyes. Also good. I think.

Cassie, Tobias and Ax all demorphed to human (actually, Ax and Tobias demorphed and _then_ morphed to human). "Hey, Jake," Tobias said, "Are you aware that your girlfriend has never seen _The Matrix_?"

"You haven't?" Cassie shook her head. "You need to see it."

"Jake, I don't like Sci-Fi."

Rachel decided to add her two cents, "You really should see it, Cassie. It's very good." Everyone nodded in agreement, including Erek.

Cassie sighed and raised her hands in defeat. "Fine, can we just start the meeting? Tobias has something to say. Something weird that happened?"

This took Tobias off guard, "Oh, are we starting with that? Um, okay. Well, you see, actually I think Ax could explain it better than me. It happened to him after all."

Something happened to Ax? "Well, I had been watching television with Tobias. That's when he showed up." He? "There was some beast before me. I didn't recognize him at all. But he attacked me.

What the hell? Ax paused before continuing. He seemed to be having a little trouble relating his story. "He punched me. His fast went clear through my stomach. I could feel the pain and there was blood everywhere. And then I passed out."

Well, that certainly took everyone off guard. I can honestly say that was not what I expected to hear. Hell, even Erek was stunned. We were all speechless. Well, except for Cassie.

"But you look fine now."

"Well, yeah," Tobias explained. "Because it didn't happen. I mean, I didn't see anything. I saw no beast, no blood, I just saw Ax scream out in pain and collapse on the floor. It was pretty... weird."

"The beast you saw," Jake spoke up, "Was it a tall guy. With four arms, red eyes, three horns?" Ax slowly nodded in shock. "Balthazar." Jake muttered. 

"Yes," Ax mumbled. "That was his name. I'm not really sure, but I just seemed to know it. Like I knew him from somewhere. But how did you know?"

"I saw him too." Everyone's eyes turned to Jake. "It... it was in a dream. The same thing. Except, I didn't get attacked. But I saw him and... I just knew who he was."

Damn, and I thought _I_ was crazy. Yeah, I think a little ghost story might not seem so weird after that. 'Cause that... well that was fucked up.

"Um, I saw something too." I added. "Not Balthazar, though. I was doing reconnaissance at the Sharing's club and I saw... someone. They said that they were a ghost."

From the looks on there faces they didn't believe me. "A ghost?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah. And I think he was telling the truth. No one else seemed to notice him. Plus when everything was over, he kinda just vanished."

"That's... really weird."

"Oh, it gets weirder. He warned me of something. He said that something was coming, something worse than the Yeerks. Something we wouldn't be able to fight. But, if we knew who to trust, we could still win. And then he gave me a ring. He said that anyone that follows this guy would be wearing the ring.

The rest of the Animorphs and Erek all stared at me blankly. "Hey, don't look at me like I'm crazy! Ax is the one that's seeing things that aren't there!" Okay, I admit, that was a bit of a cheap shot and Ax really seemed to be hurt by it. Well, too bad. I didn't care. And it was true. Sort of.

Anyway, moving. "So, with all the stuff going on, ghosts and creepy punching people, we might have a little more trouble than just Yeerks."

"Yes," Erek said, standing up and surveying the group, "but right now, we probably should worry about the Yeerks. Myself and some fellow Chee have decoded the disk that Tobias found. It seems you were basically right, the Yeerks are planning on making an army. They made an alliance with a race called the Coo-Hatch, known for their welding abilities. The Coo-Hatch have also developed the strongest steel anyone has ever seen. The Yeerks are infusing it with a host's skeletal structure. That's what made Tom so strong.

"There's more to it, though. The entire surgical process ends up trapping the Yeerk inside that one host. They can never leave. Unfortunately, the Yeerks have found a way to still absorb Kandrona rays. This also means, though, that the process is non-reversible. It's permanent. Which means that Tom-"

"Is trapped." Jake finished glumly. 

Erek slowly nodded. "Right. He's trapped."

"Well, is there any other way?" Rachel asked a little frantically. "I mean, is there any way to stop these guys? Stop the Yeerks from making more?"

"Yes. This is an experimental... experiment. If it fails, the Council of Thirteen will abandon the entire idea. And from what we've seen there is a self-destruct sequence. But, the codes seem wrong. It's likely that only Visser Nine, the one behind it all, has the real codes. Visser Nine is also greedy, it seems. From what we can make out, there's another self-destruct sequence, that will be activated upon Visser Nine's death. It will shut down all the hosts that have been infected."

Rachel smiled, "Well, that's good."

"It would be, except Visser Nine's host is Tom." Erek continued. "Which means that the only way to stop this is to get the codes out of him, somehow, or..." Erek left the sentence hanging, but we all knew what he meant. The only other way would be to kill Tom.

"Are you sure," Jake asked, "that that's the only way?"

Erek nodded.

"Okay then. We have to kill Tom."

I can honestly say that none of us were expecting that.

Especially Rachel. "Jake, what?"

"That's the only way, Rachel. You know it is."

"No, I can't stand here and listen to you calmly say that your brother has to die. I don't accept that. There has to be another way."

Jake, who had been mostly calm throughout the entire meeting, including stating that his brother had to be killed, finally exploded. "How, Rachel!? Reason with the Yeerk. It will never happen. Now I wish this wasn't true but-"

"Tom is an innocent person!"

"And the people he kills aren't!? The people that are enslaved by him aren't!? Those Hork-Bajir that _you_ kill aren't? The fight with the Yeerks has had nothing but innocent people being killed. I wish it wasn't so, but this is a _war_, Rachel. I thought you understood that. A war is about doing what's right, not what's fair. And if that means killing one innocent person, even my own brother, so that God knows how many more can survive and live their lives free from Yeerk control, then there is no contest. Tom has to die."

Rachel calmed down, but Jake was still seething. Then Rachel said it. The one thing we had all been thinking. "Can you kill him?"

Jake didn't answer. After a few moments, thought, he did speak, but he never took his eyes off of Rachel. "Erek, was there anything else?"

"No, Jake."

"Good. This meeting is adjourned." And with that Jake turned and walked out. Rachel shortly followed suit, in the opposite direction of course.

"I hate having to bring the bad news," Erek said, "and I wish there was another way. I'm sorry." And then he left too.

Cassie and I exchanged a look. Neither one of us knew what to do. We had no idea. Cassie gave me one last poignant look before going back inside her house.

When Cassie left, I turned and started to haul ass. I really didn't want to be alone with Ax and Tobias. But it didn't do any good, because pretty soon Ax was right behind me.

"Marco!" He called and I stopped and turned to face him. "Marco, I wanted to talk to you. I needed to tell you that-"

"Save it." This was it. Everything I had felt since the other night was all coming out now. "Just save it, Ax. You know, just a few weeks ago my life was just fine. Sure it pretty much sucked beyond the telling of it, but I was okay with that. Things made sense. But ever since that Sharing's club, my life has been extremely fucked up, and most of that is because of you. You see, I'm forced to accept that not only am I not as heterosexual as I thought I was, but I have very strong feelings for someone that's not even _human_. That would be you.

"So, I deal with that. That is a lot of shit to deal with right there. But there's more. See, my other friend, Tobias, you know him, convinces me that you return the feeling. That you really like me. So I figure, what the hell, maybe it could work. Maybe some of the stuff that's bugging me so much could start to make a little sense. Maybe I could find just a sliver of happiness. But no. You see, I go and find you and, pardon the excruciatingly stupid phrase, give my heart to you and you spit it right back in my face.

"You know what, Ax? I'm sure you've got plenty of reasons. Probably some Andalite stuff or plenty of other shit like that. But you know what? I don't care."

"Marco, I-"

"No! Ax. I. Don't. Care."

And I turned and walked off. I know I was cruel and heartless and one mean son of a bitch. And I really don't care.

* * *

**To reviewers:  
Jinako-chan: **Cool, birthday update! Neat. Happy Birthday, to you! No exactly hallucinations. Well, you'll see. Is Balthazar Greek? I think it's the name of someone from Romeo and Juliet. To be truthful, I just like the name and I think it sounds like a good villain name. Was there enough slashy tension for you? Well, now they know the plan. And why would you think Jake works for the Big Evil That's A-Comin'? Big Bad Voice won't be around for a very long time. And it doesn't exactly have an ass for you to kick. Let me see, it will not appear anymore in this fic (I think) and after that it will only make one or two guest appearances in the sequels that will follow. You'll see more of this guy when I'm ending this series, and that's at least a year (maybe two) away. Hmm, so Tobias will go evil when he and Rachel get their freak on? Hey, Willow/Anya! That's cool. I like that pairing. Then again, I like Anya with just about anyone. Yeah, Andrew is cool. Heh heh, he wrote breakup sex on the board (Sorry, I've been thinking of that and laughing since Tuesday. I'm just barely getting over randomly shouting "We are as gods!"). Hmm, I'm still not sure if something will happen to Jake's testicles. Well, now that I think about, something already did happen to them in the first fic. ^_~

**Alara-Sirinial-Amalon: **Um, someone might die. It's certainly a possibility.

**stumbeline: **Um, the Jake thing will be explained *looks at outline* Holy crap! Um, it's gonna be a long time. Basically, Jake was part of the vision Ax saw.

**Myself: **This is actually the only fic I respond to reviews. Mostly 'cause I like the people that review. Um, I promise wings next chapter. The name is from Romeo and Juliet and maybe some other places. I just like that name. Yeah, I hate those kinda fics. Wait, I wrote some of those. Oh well, thank anyway. A year? Damn, that's been a while.

**Aaren: **I'm considering it. Actually, I'm considering when I'm gonna use it. If I don't use it in this fic, it'll show up pretty soon anyway. As for the Jake thing, Jake was part of Ax's hallucination thing.

**M: **I've seen a few episodes of Six Feet Under and it is awesome. I'll try to incorporate it somehow.

**Aqua Rhapsody: **Is this one a little better instead of just being there?

**Lisa-Ann: **Can we compromise? 7.25? I listened to the song and you're right, it is perfect. I might try to fit it in somewhere. Thanks for the song.

**Mesia Swords: **Thanks, I like that line a lot. What is with people thinking that Jake is going to betray the Animorphs? He would never do that unless he was being controlled by something. Jake's a good guy.

**Kewpie: **Thanks, a new M/A fan and a Buffy fan! Cool! I hope this chapter was to your liking also. 


	18. Mrs Fearless Leader

TITLE: "Adventures in Clubbing"  
  
AUTHOR: Doctor Strangelove (strangelove317@hotmail.com)  
RATING: PG-13  
SPOILERS: Um, I don't know. No particular spoilers. Visser Three is still Visser Three.  
FEEDBACK: I'd love it.  
DISCLAIMER: K. A. Applegate owns the Animorphs.   
A/N: Okay, this chapter is Cassie's POV and I think I sucked writing from her. But I really like her and wanted to do a chapter with her. I apologize in advance if she seems OOC. I also apologize for this being mostly filler.

"Adventures in Clubbing"

Written by: Doctor Strangelove

My name is Cassie. And some pretty serious stuff is going on. Okay, you see a few weeks ago Jake, the leader of the Animorphs and my sorta-boyfriend, gets sick and leaves me in charge. Which was sweet. And stupid. Rachel would've been a much better choice. 

Anyway, so the Sharing has a new gay club that we think is actual a plan to infest more hosts. And it is. So I send Marco, along with Ax. Now, I know you're going to think I'm crazy, but you see, Marco and Ax have some real sexual tension between them. I know, it's sounds insane, but they really do. Trust me, I'm intuitive like that. So I send them off together. 

Well, to make a long story less long, the Yeerks have a scheme to make Controllers super-strong, we have warnings of a big bad monster guy coming to kill us, and Ax and Jake have been seeing some monster in visions and dreams. Actually, those last two are probably the same thing.

I'm worried about all those things, really, but mostly I'm worried about Jake. During our last meeting, a few hours ago, Erek basically said that the only way to stop the Yeerks would be to kill Jake's brother Tom. And Jake was fine with that. He agreed. He coolly said that we had to kill Tom.

To be honest, it really scared me. That was just unlike Jake. It was actually a lot like Rachel. And she was the one disagreeing with him. It was weird. And I'm wondering where I stand. I mean, Rachel and Jake both made good points. God, it's confusing.

And I'm worried about Ax. I mean, Jake just had a dream about this Balthazar guy, but Ax had a full-fledged vision. Complete with pain and blood. Poor guy.

Oh, but I'm pretty sure I was right about Marco and Ax. After the meeting, I saw them talking. Well, more accurately, I saw Marco bitching at Ax. But it was a loving kind of bitching. That makes no sense, does it?

While I was worrying about all of this, there was a knock on my door. I was home by myself so I went to answer it, and to my surprise Jake was standing there. "Cassie!" Jake smiled and wrapped his arms around me. 

"Jake, what's going o-" I was interrupted when Jake released me from his hug and pulled me into a kiss. 

"Thank God, you're okay."

I stepped back and Jake and I walked over to the couch. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

Jake just stared at me. "No reason. I was just making sure. That was all."

"Oh. Okay. Well, I'm fine."

"Good. Well, I should probably go then." 

Jake got up to leave but I put my hand on his arm. "You don't have to." I blushed and moved my arm. "I mean, if you don't want to."

Jake smiled at me and sat back down. "I don't. Want to go. I can stay."

"Good. Because I want to talk to you." The color drained out of his face at that.

"Oh."

"Yeah. About Tom. And about what Erek said. Jake, I know it didn't seem like there was any option besides killing Tom, but is that really what you want to do?"

"Of course not. It's just... there _is _no other way. I know that. I keep hoping that there is, but deep down, I know.

"And this whole thing with Balthazar and some guy coming to kill us. We can't worry about that _and_ the super-Yeerks. We've got to get this problem out of the way before Balthazar gets here."

"I understand."

"Cassie, there's something else too."

"There is?"

"Yes, you see back when I was sick..." Jake trailed off and I saw his eyes wander over my shoulder. They widened in shock and then Jake shook his head slightly.

I quickly turned around. There was nothing. "Jake, are you okay?"

"Um, yeah, I'm fine. Look, Cassie, I gotta go. I'll talk to you later." 

As Jake stood up, I offered one last attempt at comfort, "Jake, listen to me, whatever's coming, whatever's going to happen, we'll deal. We'll handle it. It will all work out okay. I promise."

"Thank, Cassie." And with that, Jake turned and ran out the front door.

I sighed, still worrying about everything. That's when the phone rang.

As I went to answer it, I thought about what I told Jake. About how everything would work out all right in the end. I was sure I was right.

Boy, I didn't know how wrong I was. 

* * *

**To reviewers: Jinako-chan: **Well, they will be on better terms at the end of this fic, I promise. And they most likely will get together. Eventually. I need to hurry up and finish this fic (only six more chapter!) so that I can do "I Am Jake". It's gonna be good. And give us some reasons why Jake's acting so weird. Someone's dying before this is all over, not saying who though. The Balthazar Crew, eh? And who exactly would they be? Oh, I found out where I got the name. It was a Buffy villain from the episode "Bad Girls". You'd think I'd remember that, that's one of my favorite episodes. Yeah, Jake's a better person in this series. I need to write the Jake POV fic for why he morphed Ax anyway. It might make you hate him less. Or more. We'll see. Yeah, I'm pretty sure Big Bad Voice is just gonna stay a voice. For the most part. It gets a body briefly. Sort of. So, does that mean Rachel and Tobias _are_ going to get their groove on? Will anyone else? *cough*MarcoandAx*cough* Heh, I was Spike for Halloween. Had the coat and everything. Even dyed my hair. LMAO! That is one of the funniest damn lines ever. These reviews are great for humor.

**Lisa-Ann: **I really like the song (the music video is cool too) but I don't think it's possible to play that song at the end. I've noticed a few other Marco/Ax songs, in my opinion anyway. You should try "What A Good Boy" by the Barenaked Ladies and "Head Over Feet" by Alanis Morissette. 

**Myself: **I've never seen _The Matrix _either. That was mostly an inside joke, 'cause everyone I know has seen it, and keep telling me I should. Um, that was Marco talking in the last paragraph. Ax mostly didn't say anything. So, how was _X2?_

**shiver: **Yes, I'm a firm believer that slash fics can be good without sex. Which is weird, that this is my only slash fic that _doesn't _have sex in it. Ooh, and six stars! I love scales that only go to six!

**Bri Yami-neko: **God, I've converted so many people to Marco/Ax. Neat. Glad you liked it. Marco/Rachel is neat too. I've been thinking of doing fic with that. 


	19. Darkest

TITLE: "Adventures in Clubbing"  
  
AUTHOR: Doctor Strangelove (strangelove317@hotmail.com)  
RATING: PG-13  
SPOILERS: Um, I don't know. No particular spoilers. Visser Three is still Visser Three.  
FEEDBACK: I'd love it.  
DISCLAIMER: K. A. Applegate owns the Animorphs.

"Adventures in Clubbing"

Written by: Doctor Strangelove

My name is Marco. I am serious deep shit.

I mean, God, it's so fucked up, it's not even funny. I am bisexual or something. I like guys, I know that, and I'm pretty sure I like girls. But that's not it. Then there's Tom. Jake's brother who I suddenly realized was very attractive and cool. Yeah, I know. So anyway, Ax is gay! And apparently he likes me a lot, but oh, apparently not. And then there's some evil horny guy, and a ghost, and I bitched out Ax. Oh, and Tom, the guy I was temporarily crushing on that looks a lot like my best friend? He has to die. 

It's so fucking stupid! It just... why can't it be, you know, _normal_!? Is that so damn much to ask, for a just a little normalcy? For a little easiness. To be able to date someone, be they male or female, human or Andalite, best friend or best friend's brother, and have it simple? I mean, look at Cassie and Jake. They've got it made! Everything works out for them. It fucking sucks.

But I can't focus on that right now. I've got to focus on what to do with Tom. Because Jake is just damn out of it. He's been pretty weird since he got sick. I mean, the way he just said we had to kill Tom. It's probably true, but I didn't expect him to do it. Rachel is so adamant about finding another way, that she can't be relied on. It's unlike her, really. Cassie is worried about Jake, so she's probably of no use. Tobias, I honestly don't know what to do with him. I mean, I'm pretty pissed about his whole little matchmaker deal, but he was just trying to do what was best. But he'll probably also side with Rachel on this deal with Tom. That just leaves me to handle it.

And Ax.

"God," I slammed my hands against my wall, "Ax." 

You remember how I said I bitched at Ax? And remember when I said I didn't care that I was an asshole to him? I've since changed my mind. Sorta. It's complicated.

I mean, I'm angry as hell about everything I went through with him. Really, _really _angry. I mean super-pissed, Hulk-smash angry. Which accounts for the bitching. 

But then, yeah okay, I liked Tom, a lot, to be honest. But I'm in love with Ax. So, no even though I was furious at him, I'm a little heartbroken things didn't work out. But I've gotta get past that. I've got to figure out what to do with Tom. I can't be thinking about Ax so much.

I nodded and turned around. "Well," I said, trying to mask my shock. "Speak of the devil."

Ax looked at me sheepishly and gave a little wave. "Hey."

*****

"I love you."

"I know."

"Do you?" Ax and I stared at each for what seemed like forever. "Do you love me too?"

*****

"So," I said and looked across the bed at Ax. "What now?"

He shrugged and turned away. "I'm not really sure."

I smiled. "Yeah, me neither."

"I'm glad we talked."

"Me too."

"And I think that was all for the best. You know, all of... _that_."

"Yeah, most likely."

We sat in silence for a few more minutes. I decided to break it. "So, are cool now? Everything okay with us?"

Ax smiled and nodded. "Most. We are most definitely cool."

I had to laugh at that. "Good. Good. I guess that means we should work on this Tom problem."

"Probably. I think you're right, it'll have to be us. But I don't know what we'll do. We can't morph and sneak in, and even if we could it doesn't sound like we could beat Tom. We're screwed."

And that's when it hit me. I had a plan. An incredibly stupid and dangerous plan that would most likely get me and Ax killed, but it was still a plan. And it could work.

*****

"I'm going tonight, Cassie."

"What?"

"I'm going to the club, tonight. To care of this once and for all."

There was a pause. "Who is this?"

I grumbled in frustration and nearly slammed the phone down. "It's Marco, Cassie."

"Oh. Hey, Marco! What do you mean you're going tonight."

"I'm going to the club. Me and Ax are."

'You and... Ax?"

"Yeah, why?"

"No reason. Just earlier, it seemed like you two... were having a fight."

"We were. It's over."

"That's good, but Marco, you can't go by yourself."

"I'm not. I'm going with Ax."

"Marco, you know what I mean. Tom is going to kill you both."

"Maybe. But maybe not. But I have a plan."

"A plan? What is it?"

I hesitated. "I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"If I tell you, you won't let me go."

"That kind of plan, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, fine. But why are you calling me about this?"

"I just, I want someone to know. Someone I trust. Also, you can't tell Rachel or Jake about this."

"Because of Tom?"

"Right. I don't know how he's going to come out of this. I just.. if they know, they'll try to stop me. For one reason or another."

"Okay. I promise. They won't know."

"Thank you, Cassie."

"You're welcome. Good luck, Marco."

"Thanks. We're gonna need it."

I hung up the phone and turned to face Ax. "Don't I get to be in on the plan?"

"No." I said.

"Why not?"

"If I tell you, you won't do it."

"I might."

"You won't."

"Okay then."

"Alright." I smiled and headed out the door. "Come on, Ax. Let's go."

* * *

**To reviewers: A note to the reviewers. With only five chapters left, I want to know what your opinions and ideas are on how you think this fic will end, and how you think it should end. I'm interested in your ideas, and I might even steal some of them. I mean, use some of them.**

**Bri Yami-neko: **I saw it. And the second. And I bought the game. It was awesome! Yeah, I like Cassie, but we won't be seeing anymore of her POV.

**Jinako-chan: **Um, pretty sure it's longer than three seconds. Now there's only five more. I am so ready for this fic to be over with. That way I can move on to the several sequels. God, I'm gonna be busy with this series for years. Maybe like two, but that's still plural. Um, I know who you're talking about. Basically it's Balthazar and Big Bad Voice. Oh and Esthrill. Now. There are others. Maybe like one. Yes, gay sex! WOO! Wow, that's not something I shout often. Tobias and who... it's someone besides Rachel, I bet. Otherwise it's not a spoiler. Oh my God, it's Tobias and Cassie isn't it!? You totally stole my idea!  
...I mean, anyway. What about Tobias and Jake? They're cool. Marco called Cassie. Now, why in the world would you think I'm gonna kill Tom? Also, please update Threads of Fate. Please. *makes puppy dog eyes and then waves Jeffrey at you*

**Lisa-Ann: **1. Doctor, Doctor, gimme the news, I got a bad case, of loving you. Sorry.   
2. I do too. I don't write female characters well. Notice how everyone else has been male. It'll be like that for the rest of the fic and the series. I don't think I ever write in female POV again.  
3. Guts for garters. I love that line!  
4. Yeah, I saw the music video for that song. It reminded me of Marco and Ax 'cause I thought the guy slightly resembled an older Marco if you sit far away and squint.

**freak show: **Yeah, Jake is weird. But he's got reasons. Boy does he ever. You'll see pretty soon. By the beginning of June probably.

**EsotericEric: **Aw, thanks. It's nice to know I don't suck. I think I promised that chapters would get longer and now they're shorter than ever. I've got one long one coming up, but the rest are all about this length. Which is probably why this fic needed 24 chapters.

**Myself: **Yes, yes, we all make asses of ourselves. I do it all the time. I saw X2. It was indeed good. I saw The Matrix too, and I really liked it. Hey, any review that mentions Rocky and Bullwinkle is good in my book.

**Aaren: **Yeah, with the Jake thing, I'm mostly writing mysterious scenes with him here and then trying to make them make sense in the next fic. It's like backwards foreshadowing or something.

**Aqua Rhapsody: **Thanks, but I don't think I did that well with Cassie. But thank you.

**Myst: **A god, eh? Neat. Um, not really sure how to punish you. Um, you could wait a while to read this chapter or something. I don't know. Heh, you're so sweet. And thanks about the chapters, some of my favorite part of this fic is titling chapters. 


	20. Before Dawn

TITLE: "Adventures in Clubbing"  
  
AUTHOR: Doctor Strangelove (strangelove317@hotmail.com)  
RATING: PG-13  
SPOILERS: Um, I don't know. No particular spoilers. Visser Three is still Visser Three.  
FEEDBACK: I'd love it.  
DISCLAIMER: K. A. Applegate owns the Animorphs.   
A/N: Incredibly short chapter. There's just not a lot to say with this.

"Adventures in Clubbing"

Written by: Doctor Strangelove

My name is Tom Berenson. Um, things are about to get very bad.

You know how Esthrill had that whole plan to create an army of super-humans? Yeah, well, I don't know what the hell happened, but he's got some plan. I'm a little fuzzy on the details, but I'll try to explain it the best I can.

Esthrill was communicating with someone. I don't know who. It's like, someone was there that I couldn't see. But Esthrill did. This was right after the Andalite bandits attacked the club. And now, Esthrill has some sort of a vial thing. It's a poison. Tomorrow night at the club we're having a special deal. There's gonna be speakers and a whole party thing. Tomorrow night Esthrill's going to inject all of the food with the poison. 

Every single person at the club, and believe me, that's a lot of people, will be knocked unconscious. And then they'll be infested by Yeerks, and made infused with the metal. Tomorrow night Esthrill's army is about to get a whole lot bigger.

With this many people, plus God knows how many more Yeerks that will volunteer, the Yeerks will be unstoppable. Six little Andalite bandits won't be able to stop them. The Yeerks will win. And they'll own Earth.

_Oh, getting a little upset, are we?_ Esthrill taunted me. He does that a lot. _You shouldn't be sad. I'll be promoted. And you right along with me._

_ I don't really give a fuck about being Visser One's bitch, thank you. _I sneered right back.

Esthrill just laughed at me. _Now who said anything about being Visser One. I'll have you know I've got much bigger plans._

_ Like what?_

Esthrill laughed again. _Oh, I'm not telling you. But you'll see soon enough. Within a few weeks, I should have an army big enough for my Master. And he'll arrive and I will be rewarded._

So, I was right. Esthrill does have bigger plans. I knew it. Planet Earth is screwed. But I can't let him know that. _The Andalites will stop you._

He kept right on laughing. _Is that a fact? The Andalites, you say? I remember single handedly beating two of them. A gorilla and a Hork-Bajir. I think I can take out a grizzly or a tiger or whatever they throw at me. You don't seem to realize who you're dealing with here, Tom. The Andalites don't even know of my plan. And if they find out, they won't be able to stop me._

_ They found the disk! _I nearly shouted. Or, I thought it really hard.

_Ha! The disk? Encrypted. And even if they decode it, the codes are all wrong. Within a week, the Andalite bandits will have been hunted down and slaughtered. Nothing can stop me now._

He was right. I knew he was right. I knew that by tomorrow night, this whole deal would be over.

As it turned out, I wouldn't have to wait that long after all.

* * *

**To reviewers: Aqua Rhapsody: **Secret plan is the next chapter. This one was just short little filler. I wanted it to be longer and then I realized that Tom just didn't have a lot to say.

**Myself: **I really wanted to have Marco and Ax's "talk" from Ax's POV. So, the entire thing will be in Chapter 22.

**Lisa-Ann: ***shoots Lisa-Ann* Anyway, I've heard guts for garters somewhere before. I think it's from _Buffy_.

**Jinako-chan: **You should really take some time away from your dancing to, oh say, update "Threads of Fate". Which I love, by the way. Kill them? Kill who? Who shouldn't I kill? Marco? Ax? Tom? Rachel? I'm confused. That's what I like about Marco and Cassie, they're not really friends but they just connect. Probably over their mutual love for Jake. I'm sorry for the confusion. This is Marco's plan. If Marco told Ax about the plan ahead of time, Ax most likely wouldn't do it. Does that help? I'm sure I could do something to change your happiness. You never got to see the whole conversation, you don't really know what happened. Or more precisely, what didn't. Yeah, the sad thing? I've started thinking of having a sequel to this series. What happens after it's done. Mostly 'cause I love writing Tom, and that's the only way I could do it. He and Jason aren't in too many more fics. Well, a few. Yes, yes, Tom, being straight, will get drunk and have sex with some guy as a one night stand. Gotcha. Either that or he's doing Cassie, which is just twisted. Yes, the Hulk-smash was a little nod to you, my favorite reviewer. Enjoy! And Jeffrey's not threatening you, he just wants to be loved!


	21. Back to Work

TITLE: "Adventures in Clubbing"  
  
AUTHOR: Doctor Strangelove (strangelove317@hotmail.com)  
RATING: PG-13  
SPOILERS: Um, I don't know. No particular spoilers. Visser Three is still Visser Three.  
FEEDBACK: I'd love it.  
DISCLAIMER: K. A. Applegate owns the Animorphs.

"Adventures in Clubbing"

Written by: Doctor Strangelove

My name is Marco. Sorry, no witty opening line for you this time. I'm a little busy.

Ax turned to look at me as we hurried down the sidewalk, on our way to the club. "So, are you going to fill me in on this plan of yours?"

I looked at him and smiled, Ax and I were currently on better terms than we had been. "Nope."

"Well, why not?"

I shook my head, "I told you, Ax, if I tell you about the plan you'll say no. I can't tell you until you have no other option, _but_ to go through with it."

He nodded and ran a little to catch up with me. I'm a fast walker. "So, what are we going to do about the patrons of the club?"

I just kept on walking, "We shouldn't have to do anything. The club is closed tonight for preparations or something. There's a big party going on tomorrow. So, tonight, it should be empty."

"Well, if it's empty, won't the doors be locked?"

I nodded, "Yep, they probably will be."

"So, we'll be breaking and entering, then?"

"That's the plan."

"Well, I'm fine with breaking and entering."

I stopped my fast pace, "When I said, 'that's the plan', I didn't mean that that was the plan. It's an expression. The actual plan is much more detailed and sordid."

"Ah."

We continued to walk in silence. I most certainly did have a plan. A scary thought, I don't usually come up with plans. And when I do, they're usually like: Step One, run. Step Two, hide. But I had one. One that would only work with me and Ax. Mostly because all the others had reasons that would keep them from proceeding. Most of those reasons having to do with Tom. 

He's related to Jake and Rachel, and then by association, he has a connection to Cassie and Tobias. So that leaves me and Ax. Now, I know all the stuff that went on with me and Tom. I do, sort of have a crush on the guy. Some of that is me probably projecting my feelings about Jake towards his sibling. I've been chock full of realizations and plans tonight. My brain's on overload.

Beneath this cool, funny, and shockingly handsome exterior though, I can be cold. I can be hard and rise to the occasion when I need to. Not like that, get your mind out of the gutter. Although, I _could_, I'm just saying that that's not what I meant when I said... you know what? Let's just move on. I can do what needs to be done without letting my feelings get in the way. Not really sure if that's a good thing or not.

And then we arrived. We were at the Sharing's club. 

"You know," I said as Ax used his tailblade to slice the door in half, "over the past few weeks, this club had caused a hell of a lot of problems. Looking back on it all, I kinda wish Jake had left Rachel in charge."

Ax and I stepped inside and looked around. The club was indeed abandoned. And it was indeed prepared for a party. There were extra tables laying about. Plus some Chinese lanterns and various other party assortments.

"Oh!" I shouted/whispered, looking a poster on one of the walls. "Cibo Matto is playing tomorrow?" I turned to Ax with a huge grin on my face. "That is awesome. Oh, wait, that probably means that Cibo Matto are all Controllers, doesn't it."

Ax nodded, "Most likely."

"Damn. Now I need a new hobby."

"I was not aware that Cibo Matto was a hobby of yours, Marco."

"Oh, yeah. Cibo Matto, Barenaked Ladies, Daniel Bedingfield. I also enjoy television, sleeping in class, and X-Men fanfiction."

Ax smiled and nodded, "Good to know."

I searched around the club. "I wonder if they have an hot wings laying around. Those things are good." 

"Yes, they are. But I doubt that they would leave them out if no one is around."

"Good point, Ax-man. I guess that means we should get to work, huh?"

"I guess so."

"All right then." Ax and I headed towards the backroom and stopped outside of it. I twisted the knob, unlocked. "Okay, Ax, you need to demorph now."

Ax complied and soon was looking at me with all four eyes. What should I morph now, Marco?

"You shouldn't."

What?

"Look, an alarm goes off if you morph, and we really need the element of surprise here. So, you're going in by yourself. I want you to check to see if it's clear, if it is, I'm coming in."

If it's not?

"Then turn around, and we're hauling ass out of here."

Okay.

Ax turned to open the door and I swallowed. I was pretty damn nervous. If the room was empty, we were fine. If not, that could mean that both Ax and I could be killed. Or worse.

But we weren't. The room was clear. So I hurried in and quickly morphed gorilla. No alarms went off. Cool, I said, I guess the alarms only on the door.

What now, Marco?

Now? Now, I'm gonna start smashing things. Hopefully, if Tom is here, this will attract him to us. When he gets here, attack. Hit him with your blade, or something. Incapacitate him. I'm hoping if we catch him by surprise, we can get him before he can get us.

What if we can't? What if we have to fight?

I reached out one over-sized hand and gently placed it on the side of Ax's face. Kill him. If we're fighting, kill him.

Ax brought up one of his hands to mine. And he did his weird eye-smile thing at me. Okay.

"Aw, how touching. But I don't really know if this is the place for that." 

Ax and I snapped out of out little moment to see Tom standing right next to us. He smiled and gave a little wave. "Hi."

Oh, shit.

* * *

**To reviewers: Aaren: **Yes, backwards foreshadowing. The only downside is sometimes I forget I foreshadowed something and it's left unresolved. Hopefully that won't happen in this fic. Really? I love cliffhangers. Does it show? The "I love you" really did happen. It's just not clear who really said it. Or what the response was. Um, damn. See this is what I mean about forgetting things.

**Jinako-chan: **Yeah, Esthrill's an ass. The only character I've made up that I don't like. Hell, I even like Balthazar. I love the songs from OMWF. I was singing that "Where Do We Go From Here?" while writing this. I didn't even think about that about Visser One, but it is kinda funny. Yes, yes, they all love Jake. In different ways, of course. Well, sorta. One loves him more in a certain way and they each love him in similar ways and this started out as a coherent sentence. Not a lot of bad stuff left. Oh, wait, nevermind. I have updated. I think I can update daily as long I as I don't say I will. Oh Lord, I've jinxed myself haven't I? So, who will Tom do the nasty with? Hmm? Marco? Melissa? Rachel? You?

**Animan: **Three chapters in three days. Do you love me more? Oh, well, you see, she got me started on Ani-fiction, and I love her fics, and she always writes these nice, long, timely reviews. And, well, you know, I love all my reviewers. You're much better than the people that don't review. 

**Lisa-Ann: **Yes, yes it does. ZOMBIE! Eat flesh. Like Subway. Only, that's fresh, isn't it? No, they will not. Although...


	22. Heartbreaker

TITLE: "Adventures in Clubbing"  
  
AUTHOR: Doctor Strangelove (strangelove317@hotmail.com)  
RATING: PG-13  
SPOILERS: Um, I don't know. No particular spoilers. Visser Three is still Visser Three.  
FEEDBACK: I'd love it.  
DISCLAIMER: K. A. Applegate owns the Animorphs. 

"Adventures in Clubbing"

Written by: Doctor Strangelove

My name is Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill. I am now one hundred percent sure that I am, indeed, a moron. But I'm going to fix. Or, at least, I'm gong to try. 

After the meeting about how we were going to handle the Tom situation, I had tried to talk to Marco. I tried to explain to Marco why I ran away the other night.

He, to put it politely, turned me down. Didn't give me a chance to explain myself. Told me he didn't care. Told me that I basically had no reason to act the way I did.

And you know what? Marco was right. I had based my entire reasoning on Andalite culture and my fears. Who were _they_ to tell me where I should happiness? The nerve! I was light-years away from my dumbass bigoted culture. It doesn't matter what they think is right, or what they think I should want. All that matters is what I want.

_Good, point. But it begs the question, _My subconscious whispered to me, _What do you want?_

_*****_

"Well, speak of the devil." Marco leaned back against the wall and smirked.

I waved meekly at him, "Hey."

I had snuck into Marco's house to talk to him. And here was my chance. And I was going to chicken out. "Ax, I already told yo-"

"Shut up." It just popped out. It took both of us by surprise. Marco opened his mouth to respond but I beat him to it. "Sorry, but you should. And you should listen. I know you told me you didn't want to hear my reasons about why I turned you down. And I'm not here to tell you that. I'm here to apologize.

"I know I can't apologize for everything I did. Everything I put you through. I know it's nowhere near enough. But I am. Sorry, that is. And that's all I have to say. I'm not going to give you reasons, because no reason would be satisfactory. I just want you to know that I never meant to hurt you. I was being selfish and stupid. I was a fool to turn you down. You are, without comparison, the single person I have ever felt this close to. You're amazing and I just wanted you to know, that I'm sorry. And...

I paused before continuing. "I love you."

I said it. I really said it. Marco looked like he was taking everything I said in. After a moment he slowly nodded. "I know."

"Do you?" We just stared at each other. "Do you love me to?"

Marco hesitated. Then he moved forward and kissed me. Hard. After a few moments he pulled back and rested his forehead against mine. "I love you."

Then we were kissing again. And then we kissed some more. Soon we tumbled onto Marco's bed and we continued kissing. And then there was some fumbling of hands. Shortly I was laying on my back, shirtless, as Marco's kisses started moving lower. 

My hands roamed along Marco's bare back as his mouth slowly reached my stomach. He kissed a few more times and then moved back slightly. His hands moved up to the waist of my morphing shorts, which were doing little to hide my, um... excitement. And then Marco stopped. He sat up, and then I sat up, and we were looking at each other.

After what seemed like an eternity, Marco spoke, "This isn't going to work is it?"

I slowly shook my head, "No, I don't believe it is."

"Yeah, because, well, you know I love you."

I nodded, "I love you too."

"But... it really is too much. We've got all this stuff going on with Tom and the Yeerks. And then this Balthazar guy." My hands gently felt the area where I had been attacked earlier. "We've got to focus on all that. And... you're an Andalite. And it really shouldn't matter, but it does. I mean, sooner or later we're gonna have to face that. This war will end, the Andalites will come, and then we'll have a whole new set of problems. And I don't think either one of us is prepared for that. Yet. 

"I wish we could just forget them. But we can't do that, can we?"

I shook my head in agreement. "No, we can't."

Marco laughed a little, "Well, can't we? Just for tonight. Tonight, can't it just be us?"

I smiled. "I think that could work. Just for tonight."

Marco laid down next to me and snuggled up against my chest. I wrapped one arm around him and his hands played gingerly on my flesh.

And we stayed like that, for a long time. Nearly two hours. But then I had to get up, and demorph. And at that moment I really wanted to just stay there. With Marco, half-conscious, laying practically on top of me. Where I could feel his heart beating with mine. Right then, I didn't care if I was stuck as a nothlit. I just wanted to be with Marco. That's what I wanted. 

But, I knew, deep down, that that wouldn't work. I had to get up. So I did. I demorphed. When I returned to my human body, Marco was sitting up on the bed with his shirt back on. He was holding mine out to me.

I put it on and sat down next to him. Marco looked at me, "I've been thinking about this Tom problem. I think, if we handle it, or when we handle it, it'll have to be us. I mean Jake and Rachel are in no place to do it. And Cassie and Tobias are gonna side with Jake and Rachel, respectively."

"That's right."

"So," Marco and I are stared at each other, "what now?"

I shrugged my shoulders and turned away from Marco. I stared out the window at the moonless night sky. "I'm not really sure."

Marco gave a little laugh, "Yeah, me neither."

I turned back and smiled at Marco. "I'm glad we talked."

"Me too."

"And I think that was for all the best." I hesitated before continuing. "You know, all of..." I made some odd hand gestures trying to express my point. "_...that_."

"Yeah, most likely." Marco was smiling but I could hear the sadness in his voice.

We just sat there in silence, unsure of what to say. Marco decided to break the silence, "So, are we cool now? Everything okay with us?"

I nodded, "Most. We are most definitely cool."

Marco laughed, "Good. Good. I guess that means we should work on this Tom problem."

"Probably. I think you're right, it'll have to be us. But I don't know what we'll do. We can't morph and sneak in, and even if we could it doesn't sound like we could beat Tom. We're screwed." Marco got an odd look on his face. "I'm sorry, that was an inappropriate choice of words."

"No, not that. I have a plan."

"What?"

Marco's face brightened up. "I have a plan. A good plan. This plan could work!" And then his demeanor changed. "Oh, God, we're gonna die!"

"What? Is that the plan?"

"No, it's... I'll tell you later. I need to get to the phone."

Marco hurried out of his room and down the stairs. I quickly followed Marco until we reached a phone. He thought for a minute, apparently trying to remember a number, while I looked around the empty and dark room. "Um, Marco, where is your father?"

"Oh, he's working late. Got it!" Marco quickly dialed a number and waited for a response. "I'm going tonight, Cassie." A pause. "I'm going to the club, tonight. To take care of this once and for all." Another pause and then Marco gave an exasperated sigh. "It's Marco, Cassie."

And Marco talked to Cassie some more. I'd tell you more, but I really only heard one side of the conversation. Finally, he hung up. "Don't I get to be in on the plan?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"If I tell you, you won't do it."

I was irritated at that. "I might."

Marco smiled. "You won't."

"Okay then."

"Alright. Come on, Ax, let's go."

*****

I quickly stepped inside the backroom, and looked around. Empty. 

It's clear, Marco.

He quickly entered and morphed to gorilla. Cool. I guess the alarms only on the door.

What now, Marco?

Now? Now, I'm gonna start smashing things. Hopefully, if Tom is here, this will attract him to us. When he gets here, attack. Hit him with your blade, or something. Incapacitate him. I'm hoping if we catch him by surprise, we can get him before he can get us.

That sounded like, well, it sounded like a stupid plan. But a stupid plan that had a chance of succeeding. A pretty good chance, actually. What if we can't? What if we have to fight?

Marco brought up one gorilla palm and gently placed it on the side of my face. Then he did what I think was a smile, but looked more like a snarl or growl. Kill him. If we're fighting, kill him.

Marco was right. If I had known about the plan I wouldn't have done it. If he had told me that I would have to injure and possibly kill Prince Jake's brother, I couldn't have done it. I knew what it was like to lose a brother. But now I had no choice. I brought up one of my hands to meet Marco's, and we shared a brief, but intimate, touch. _Only for tonight. _I thought. Okay.

"Aw, how touching. But I don't really know if this is the place for that." Marco and I let our hands drop as we turned to face Tom. Prince Jake's brother looked at us and waved. "Hi."

Marco instinctively backed away. Oh, shit.

Tom smiled wickedly, "Appropriate comment." I was too stunned to move. I couldn't stop it. It was all too fast. Tom stepped forward and grabbed Marco by the arm. As Marco began to roar in protest, Tom's hand shot straight forward. I saw the blood soaked hand sticking out of Marco's back. I saw the fingers wiggle briefly and then slide back out. Then I saw the gaping hole in Marco's chest, right about where his heart was.

I didn't have time to think, MARCO! Demorph, now!

I think he might have heard me. I know Tom did. He turned to face me with a look of wonder on his face. "Marco?"

And then I attacked. It was so fast, I didn't even know I had until my tailblade came back bloody.

Tom stared at me in confusion and reached down to touch his stomach. When he reached down, one hand was already soaked in blood. When he pulled them back up, they both were. Tom stared at the gaping red gash across his stomach and then turned to face me. "Huh," he mumbled before collapsing to the floor. 

* * *

**To reviewers: Jinako-chan: **I'm not sure, but I think a mix of self-determination, the fact that I have one day left of school, and the fact that I really want this bloody fic to be over might have something to do with it. ...Um, I have no idea what would give you that idea. Yes, yes, we all bask in the wondrous glow that is Barenaked Ladies. You know, if you don't know I'm talking about a band that sentence comes off weird. Why, yes, Marco does like Storm/Nightcrawler. He also enjoys Beast/Iceman slash. Or was that me? Hmm, darn, that's cool and all, but I loves me some Tom slash. Which might be why I wrote an NC-17 fic with him. Not sure if I'm gonna post that. And on the "Boys Will Be Boys" front, the next fic will be up probably the day or day after this fic ends. And the number of sequels has risen from three to five. It seems like a happy ending for all. Even, Jake. Though he does get punished.

**Aqua Rhapsody: **Well, what happens next is that Tom _doesn't _die, Marco realizes he's better off with Tom than Ax. But don't feel bad, because Ax falls in love with Cassie. Then, after being dumped and finding out his best friend and his brother are getting it on, Jake begins a torrid love affair with Tobias, who is emotionally upset over Rachel's death. Then the whole gang moves to Seattle and opens up a sports bar. Wackiness ensues. It turns out the whole Balthazar thing was a big misunderstanding and that message was meant for Marco _Polo_. 

**Myself: **I'm busy but I just want this damn fic to be over with. Um, it turns out the Animorphs weren't going to be visiting the club that much anymore, so the chicken wings had to take a backseat to the evil horny guy and the emotional melodrama. Sorry


	23. Deus Ex Machina

TITLE: "Adventures in Clubbing"  
  
AUTHOR: Doctor Strangelove (strangelove317@hotmail.com)  
RATING: PG-13  
SPOILERS: Um, I don't know. No particular spoilers. Visser Three is still Visser Three.  
FEEDBACK: I'd love it.  
DISCLAIMER: K. A. Applegate owns the Animorphs.

"Adventures in Clubbing"

Written by: Doctor Strangelove

"Huh." I heard my voice say. Then I collapsed to the floor. My legs didn't seem to work anymore. 

_Oh God._ I thought. I couldn't look down. I wanted to, but I couldn't. Fucking Esthrill. I _had _to look down. Had to make sure it was really happening. Had to make sure that blood was mine. 

Because I couldn't tell if the Andalite had really sliced me open. I couldn't feel it. Shouldn't it hurt? Shouldn't I be in blinding pain. 

And then I remember, the surgery. The Yeerks. The same process that made me so powerful, it numbed nerve endings. I couldn't feel pain anymore. Then why couldn't I stand? 

_The blood,_ I realized. _I'm losing too much blood. Not so invincible after all. _But the metal was blocking a lot of the blood. I was gonna die slow. _God, I'm gonna die and I won't even feel it._

And then I was looking down. My head jerked. I did it. I could move my head! My hands, my head, my eyes, they were all mine again. Esthrill was trying to get out. He was trying to save his own sorry ass. I gave a weak laugh. 

"But you can't, can you?" I mumbled. 

What? The Andalite turned to me. 

I looked up at him and laughed. "He's trying to leave. But he can't. The process they did, he can leave my brain, but he can't leave my head." I laughed again as I remember the song "Hotel California." "You can check out, but you can never leave." I sang. 

Then I remember the Andalite. He had said Marco, hadn't he? He had called the one I killed Marco. That's an odd name for an Andalite. 

Then I saw him. 

The Andalite I had killed, he wasn't dead. He wasn't an Andalite either. It was Marco. 

Jake's friend. The kid I had been "dating", more like seducing into a life of enslavement. Actually, I guess I _was _doing the dating, and Esthrill was seducing. Using me. 

"So," I chuckled. Getting gutted was turning out to be a funny thing. "I did hear that right." Marco just stared at me. "Heh, well they were right after all." 

"Who?" He asked quietly. 

"Oh, the Yeerks." I explained. "They know you're human. Well, they have suspicions. But don't worry, your secret's safe with me." I giggled at my little joke. 

Marco stared at me before asking, "Tom, are you okay?" 

"Oh, I'm super, thanks for asking! Actually, I think I've lost a little blood. S'making me all crazy." 

I laughed again and continued to hum "Hotel California." Finally Marco came forward and kneeled down next to me. "Tom, I'm-" 

"Don't apologize." I cut him off. "Don't. It's not your fault. I guess technically it's his," I pointed to the Andalite and giggled. "but blame's not important. It's not even that sad. I died a long time ago." I laughed and then started coughing. Blood spurted out of my mouth and landed on my chest. "Now, that can't be good." 

Marco looked like he was trying to avoid my eyes while also trying to avoid my gaping wound. "Tom, about the Yeerks. Their plan, the one that made you strong." 

"Oh, you know about it? You decoded the disk? Well good for you. Kudos! What about it?" 

"How do we stop it?" 

"Stop it? Oh, there's codes, somewhere. But then there's me. When this body dies, this whole experiment goes with it." I started to laugh when I suddenly flashed on a memory of Esthrill's. "Oh shit." 

"What is it?" 

"This building. The labs are beneath this building. When I die, this building's gonna blow." I smiled at Marco. "I guess that means you should leave." 

"Tom, we ca-" 

And then Esthrill was back. I guess he had given up on trying to escape. He looked up at Marco and the Andalite with utter contempt. "You think you've won?" I heard my voice come out harsh and bitter. "You think this victory, my death, that they mean anything? When He comes. When my Master gets here," Esthrill laughed using my body. "Oh, you'll wish I killed you all." 

And then I used my last ounce of strength to give Marco one last message, "Go! You don't have time." 

"Tom..." 

"GO!" 

And they left. And I was alone. "So, I guess it's just you and me, buddy." I said to the hellspawn inhabiting my head. And then, I thought I saw... Could that be...? No, I must be seeing things. Things were starting to fade in and out. There was no bright light. Just... darkness. Things were getting very dark and 

* * *

**To reviewers: Jinako-chan: **Tom's freaky killing ability is officially gone. Yep, it was Tom that dies. I guess it was pretty obvious all along. Why, does Ax kill Tom in Threads of Fate? 'Cause that would suck. I think Ax and Tom would've gotten along. Hey, maybe in some parallel universe, Tom survived and they became friends. Actually, I've changed my mind. It's gone back to three. I had two fics that would kinda fit in, but they would also mean that all six of the Animorphs would be gay. Which, while neat, it pretty damn unlikely. Hell, I'm pushing it with three. I was listening to "Mrs." whilst writing this. And only one chapter left, I think I'm gonna cry.

**BurrowedLurker: ***hugs back* Thank you.

**Myst: **I was waiting for someone to mention the Everworld reference. I have since seen the Matrix. And the sequel. Both were very good. Um, Jeffrey is a meat cleaver. He originated when in one of Jinako-chan's fics, she said not to attack her with meat cleavers for her characterization of Ax. Thus, Jeffrey was born. He's not for attacking though, just cleaving meat. He did attack, he just quipped first. Villains do that. Yes, poor Ax. But he'll get his chance to "experiment" soon enough.

**Myself: **A speaking suspicion, eh? What exactly is it? Maybe the wings will show up somewhere else. In fact, I guarantee they will.

**Lisa-Ann: **Yes, he will. In fact, he just did.

**Aqua Rhapsody: **Sadly, I have to go with the less fun, dramatic ending. Although that one would be really neat.

**Black Goddess: **Jason Montoya is based off a guy I know, a close friend of mine. I was too lazy to come up with a new name though. 


	24. Miles to Go

TITLE: "Adventures in Clubbing"  
  
AUTHOR: Doctor Strangelove (strangelove317@hotmail.com)  
RATING: PG-13  
SPOILERS: Um, I don't know. No particular spoilers. Visser Three is still Visser Three.  
FEEDBACK: I'd love it.  
DISCLAIMER: K. A. Applegate owns the Animorphs. 

"Adventures in Clubbing"

Written by: Doctor Strangelove

My name is Marco. 

Tom is dead. 

I know... I know it's what had to be done. I know that he _had_ to die. I mean, there was no other option, right? Yeah. So, even though I know all that. Even though _I_ didn't physically kill him. Despite all that, I feel like it's my fault. 

I feel like I was too rash. I could've waited and thought up a better plan. Or better yet, let someone else think us the plan. I mean, what the fuck was I thinking!? I... I should've waited. I should've found some other way besides...

Eight other people are dead. I didn't even think about that. People besides Tom that might die. Three were in the club. When it blew up, they went with it. So did Tom. Or, more specifically, Tom's corpse. His death kinda triggered the explosion. But that's the "official" reason of how he got killed. It was on the news. They said some kind of arsonist or something.

But five other people died that night. No one seems to know why. They just keeled over dead. 

I know why.

They were Controllers. They had received whatever treatment from the Yeerks. And now they were dead because of it. Because of me. 

I knew one of them. His name was Matt. He sat next to me in math and science. He let me cheat off of him a lot. He was a cool guy. And now he's dead. 

Probably more too. That just weren't in our city. I'm sure a few Vissers had probably wanted to become super-strong. I wonder...

I can't even talk to Jake. What would I say? I can't even look at him. I've never seen him like this. Before he was talking calmly about having to kill his brother but now... Now I think it's finally hit him. Tom is dead. He's not coming back. And now Jake, it's like he's dead inside. I saw him, afterwards, after he found out... There was nothing. No emotion. No life. I saw a few tears run down his face, but that was it. It scared me.

Nothing is simple anymore. Ever since we walked through the construction site, it's all... I'm constantly in danger. I never know who I can trust. I find out my long dead mother is the most powerful in a evil alien force. And hell, in the last few weeks. It's too much.

I can't handle it. I can't... I wish I could take it all back. But even if I could, I wouldn't. Because even though I don't want to. Even though I hate it. This is what I have to do. Because, hey, if we didn't, who would?

I'm not even going to get into the stuff with Ax. That's _way_ too much for me to handle. It just really sucks, the whole thing.

And then there's more. There's something coming. Something big. Someone, I guess is more appropriate. Balthazar. 

I don't even know how to explain it. I don't know how to... Tom, well, Tom's Yeerk, said that when Balthazar comes, that we'll wish we were already dead. I think he's right. I think that's exactly what's going to happen.

This thing is coming. And we don't know when. We don't know how to prepare for it. We don't know how to fight it. We don't know _anything_ about it.

I don't we're gonna win.

I think this thing, whatever it is, is gonna kill us all. 

And part of me wants it to. Part of me just wants this all to be over. Because it's all, it's too much.

People are going to die. That's a given. It's a war. Innocent people will die. I might die. And that's... 

So, that was my story. It didn't really have a happy ending. Hell, it didn't really end at all, did it? But that's it. I'm done. I'm done recounting my life for you. Sorry, but I can't do this anymore. And, well, I guess that's all.

Thanks for reading.

* * *

It's over. It took six months but it's finally over. And really, it's just beginning. There's more to the story, a lot more. But we'll be getting there soon enough. I just wanted to thank all of the readers, especially those of you that reviewed. You were a major inspiration for me to keep writing this and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. I'm sorry the chapters weren't as long as they could be, there wasn't as much Tom as there could've been, that there weren't as many hot wings as there should've been, and that I couldn't incorporate "If You're Not the One". But you people were great. I couldn't have asked for a better group of readers. Thank you. Thank you all.

**To reviewers: Aaren: **Tom sort of liked Marco. I wished I could've delved into that relationship more. Tom was starting to like Marco, but he was still in love with Jason. I think he has just sort of given up on life in general, so he wasn't really looking for a new relationship.

**Jinako-chan: **I was a little worried about how to handle Tom's death, but I knew it had to be from his POV. Sort of a final goodbye to the guy. And I think all that blood loss might have been making him a little weird. We actually have a few fics without Esthrill's Master. Well, he's there, but not important yet. You'll see who Tom saw soon enough. I'll just say, he saw two people. I've got most of the sequels to "Boys Will Be Boys" at least planned out, if not written. I'm still a little unsure on how to end that whole thing. Jake will be getting his just deserts though. I was listening to "Where Do We Go From Here?" while writing this. Kinda appropriate, huh? 

**Myself: ***polished blunt object and then sets it down* Anyway. Deus Ex Machina is a phrase that means Machine of the Gods. It came from Greek plays where the gods would come down at the end and fix everything. Now it applies to when a play/story/movie/etc. had an ending that just kinda fixes everything up even if it doesn't really make a lot of sense. In this fic it kinda had a double meaning that I don't think anyone will get. Yet. 

**Aqua Rhapsody: **Well, someone had to die. It's no fun if _everyone_ lives. But, seriously... well that's mostly true. I wanted to kill someone and Tom seemed the most likely. So I wrote it that his death would fit. I've known from the start I was gonna kill him. Um, this was the last one.

**Lisa-Ann: **Wow, I've made you threatless. Neat. So, no brats? Also neat.

**Myst: **Um, it kinda turned out short, didn't it? Who Tom saw will be covered pretty soon.

* * *

While Marco was busy infiltrating the Sharing's club, Jake was busy with problems of his own. Problems of divine proportions. 

"I Am Jake"  
June 5, 2003


End file.
